The Importance of Self-care.
In this Edition: (A little different today)
Quote. (Followed by more quotes this time.)
Update & Motivate: Merged to discuss self-care.
Book review: The It Girl by Ruth Ware
Final thoughts.
Update & Motivate:
I hope you’re amazing. I mean, of course you are, but I also hope life is going amazingly for you.
The blog is different today because of this time of year and what’s heavy on my heart.
This past week was Groundhog Day. This day used to mean little to me, but on February 2nd 2021, that changed. Groundhog Day became a day I’ll always remember because it drastically changed my life.
It started a series of events that led me to realize how important self care is.
Now, I can say ‘no’ without guilt.
Now, I realize that if I don’t take care for myself, I can’t take care of anyone else.
Now, I’m not devastated if someone doesn’t like me. I’m actually okay with it.
I have more self-confidence and am more comfortable in my own skin.
I share this with you because some people out there are going through similar struggles, and they aren’t taking care of themselves like they should. They are empty and they need help and permission to stop letting themselves be taken advantage of. You may be one of them. When you give and give and give, eventually you’re used up and you stop being able to give at all.
You should always be able to give.
You owe it to you and everyone around you that you love and cherish and to those you haven’t met yet, but who will become significant in your life, to care for yourself, to take a little time for yourself, to not overextend yourself, to say no when you need to, so you have the ability to say yes. I’m not telling you to be selfish. Self-care isn’t selfish. Self-care IS taking care of those around you.
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” -Maya Angelou
There’s a fine line between being a good, caring human and being a doormat.
Don’t be a doormat.
I think a lot of us have trouble saying “no.” We want to be helpful. We want to be liked. We want to be good. We want to be admired. We like to feel needed. We like to feel important.
You can KNOW to do something, but if you want to benefit from it, you have to do it.
So this is for those out there who know they need to care for themselves, but don’t. Why aren’t you doing it?
And if you’re already implementing self-care, I encourage you to encourage someone else.
Don’t be selfish, but be wise with your time.
Book Review:
“You’re never alone in a room filled with a thousand books.”
― Ruth Ware, The It Girl
So, I don’t typically enjoy reading high school or college settings. I was born a 40yo woman and didn’t have the same high school and college experiences most of you did. So, it’s difficult for me to relate to those younger characters.
BUT…
This book was so well done. Most of the reviews online that are negative come from the fact that this book should’ve been shorter. Are there parts that I wished were shorter? Yes. It did drag a little in spots, but it’s so worth the read, even those minor negatives.
This work was beautifully plotted, in my opinion. It was intriguing, realistic, and it was one of the best mystery/thrillers I’ve read in a while. I actually stayed up late reading this one because I wanted to know what happened.
It might not be for you, but I highly recommend you try it out and see. Hopefully, you’ll be as hooked as I was.
Goodreads summary:
April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide… including a murder.
Final thoughts:
I hope this week that you care for others, but more than anything else, I hope you care for yourself.
If you aren’t already doing it, give the gift of you to everyone around you, do so by valuing yourself enough to invest in you. I think you’ll find everyone gets more that way.
“Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.” - Louisa May Alcott
Until next week, much glitter,
Melissa
p.s. Loving this blog? Get my weekly content: timely updates, book reviews, book bonuses, essentially, ways to love yourself, others, and books! And get email-only specials. Sign up for my weekly newsletter.
