You may be in the most exciting time of your life, with a family at home and a full book of clients at work. Everything should feel perfect, right? If you doubt yourself or have a hard time forgiving your own mistakes, you’re a lot like other very busy women.

5 Steps to Loving Yourself

Dr. Sherrie Campbell, author of Loving Yourself: The Mastery of Being Your Own Person, tries to help women stay sane when they have so much on their plate. She suggests:

1. Seek out silence. “Life is full of quiet spaces,” Campbell says. “As women, we need to find and embrace them. Whether it is 15 minutes of silence in the car or 30 minutes before bed when everyone else is asleep, those quiet spaces are there. This is a time to breathe and let the body relax. It is amazing what one deep breath can do to soothe a stressed soul.” It’s in these quiet spaces that you’ll begin to feel refreshed and uplifted, ready for your next task.

2. Contemplate. Campbell recommends devoting time to meditation, reading or journaling as an intellectually stimulating, soothing and inspiring way to achieve inner peace and develop a deeper understanding of life and love. She also mentions art, which you do professionally every day, so you’re already ahead of the game!

“Women are communicators, thinkers and analyzers,” she observes. “Women are bearers of life. It is essential for women to be in contemplation of what is next for them to creatively bring into the world.”

3. Fresh Air. Sit outside after dinner, perhaps with a glass of wine, or take a 20 minute walk, Campbell advises. “Getting out into the fresh air without the phone, kids or any other relationship demanding your attention should be a daily practice,” she says. “Fresh air has been proven to uplift mood and decrease stress.

4. Movement/growth. Get in touch with the earth through exercise, yoga, walking, hiking, running, dancing or gardening. When you pursue whatever it is that makes a you feel alive and in touch with the earth, your soul and nature will connect you to “your life force energy within,” Campbell says. “Being in the flow of life, birth, growth and all things related to the spirit” is what women are all about.

5. Rest. The more you multitask, the more critical it is that you not only rest, but sleep. “It is vital that women rest their bodies, their minds and souls,” Campbell says. “Depression and anxiety are direct results from a lack of sleep, increasing the feeling of being overwhelmed. Rest makes everything in life feel better and seem better.”

 

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