Step Away From the Cake

Defining it as an on/off switch, list all the ways that perfectionism could potentially derail your self-care practice. In other words, in what kinds of situations could you imagine yourself saying, “I ruined something” or “I’m never going to be able to do this so I might as well quit now”? For example, how would you likely react after not walking for a few days? Response: This is something I've been working on for a long, long time. Losing that perfectionist attitude. I used to be a real perfectionist and it was ruining lots of things in my life. If I missed a workout, I would beat myself up. If I screwed up a craft project, I would beat myself up. If I did something wrong at work, I would beat myself up and ruminate about it for days. But I've been working on not doing that. I've been working on accepting the fact that I am not perfect and doing things to the best of my ability is good. I don't expect my students to do better than they are capable of, why wo...

Assignment: Write a letter to your kid telling them all the ways that you hope they will take care of themselves as adults so that they can have the most amazing life possible. Try not to leave anything out. Talk about the physical things they will need to do, the attitude they will need to have, and the perspective necessary to glide through hard times with the least amount of heartache. Response: To have an amazing life you must absolutely take time for yourself. You must find the things that make you happy outside of your family. We all know that seeing your kids happy makes you happy, but there have to be things outside your family that make you happy. You must be able to stand on your own, with your own people, among your own friends. You must have hobbies and interests that maybe you share with no one else. That's fine. If it fills you with joy or just makes you happy, that's okay. Do it. Go for it. Being able to stand on your own two feet is so very important in thi...