Woman

The 14 Zen Commandments: The Importance of Picking Yourself

Before being moms, we are women! Here is a document to print and put on your fridge to remind you that taking care of yourself is a priority!

You shall not skip a meal.

If you think you save time by skipping lunch, think again. In fact, you save minutes right away but you become ineffective later on.

You shall sleep!

It is useless to sleep twelve hours in a row if you sleep 3 hours in the next four nights. Try to respect your rhythm. During your maternity leave, you can nap or sleep when baby sleeps.

You shall get moving!

Exercising can evacuate your tensions. Find an activity that will free your mind and give you energy.

You shall let go…

Out with the old “I prefer to do it myself…”! Let your spouse do the laundry even if it is not folded perfectly and enjoy this “liberation” to do something else. In short, let go of daily things to focus on what really matters.

You shall say “no” to others in order to say “yes” to yourself!

That way, you will do things because you want to, not just because you must.

You shall free your mind every night!

Don’t go to bed worried. To evacuate your stress, write down what is wrong. You will be less worried in bed and you will sleep better.

You shall surround yourself!

Have friends and family on whom you can count if need be. Knowing that you are not alone and being able to seek help is soothing.

You shall seek entertainment!

You like comedies? Reserve an evening to watch super funny old movies. You prefer board games? Invite friends over and play while children play in the other room.

You shall relax!

The floor needs washing? Fine! But it can wait. Take a long bath with a good novel to get away from your daily routine.

You shall allow yourself to be imperfect!

We push ourselves too much. Way too much! No one judges you more than you do. So relax on your quest for perfection and wonder what you really want: to be perfect or to be happy?

You shall give yourself time.

To be beautiful, to think, to take a break, to take your mind off things, to take a coffee with a friend… We are stretching our days for our children, our boyfriend, our friends and our family but do we really do things that we like? Take 15 minutes just for you. And gradually increase your daily dose…

You shall add some color to your life!

Grey is fashionable but it is a disaster for our skin tone. Mix it with punchy colors! Yellow and orange are really good to lift you up. Yellow boosts your intellect and chases fatigue and sadness while orange increases optimism and reduces fatigue. Green fights insomnia and blue brings peace and tranquility.

You shall let music guide you.

Classical music increases concentration and allows us to feel more relaxed. So, when you are coming back from work, stuck in traffic, instead of listening to people screaming at each other on the radio, listen to classical music! Happy music can also motivate you while you clean up your house.

You shall know yourself better!

Try to look back at your days. If you know that you are more productive in the morning, accomplish the hardest tasks then. Identify the moments when you are most tired and plan your breaks consequently.

Image de Nadine Descheneaux

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