“Me” Comes Before “You” Not Only in the Dictionary

For over a year, y’all have been watching me preach about the importance of prioritizing your self-care. I’ve been going HARD in the paint; posting daily, blogging weekly, trying to make sales, making deals with new partners, going to community events, working 40+ hours a week, managing a chaotic family of 6, & helping anyone outside of my household when I can. This last 2 weeks has put me in a rough headspace, & in the midst of planning to kick off the 31 Day Self-Care Challenge, I realized I need to do better for myself…hence the title “Me Comes Before You.”

     It’s in my nature to go hard. I don’t know any other way but to do things to the best of my ability EVERY TIME. My parents instilled in us that good work ethic & family focus are essential to adulting. Not one of my sisters gives less than 100% on everything. We just can’t help it. And that sometimes doesn’t benefit us much. Listen, that sister group chat stays lit with us either clowning or venting & encouraging each other to keep going. I’m uber blessed to be so close to them!

     Last night, I had a keep-it-real convo with myself & said “girl, you’re NOT ok; & that’s fine!” I recognize that I can’t continue to be everything for everyone right now, so after I get some things in order tomorrow, I’m going to commit to taking more time to prioritize myself during the 31 Day Self-Care Challenge. Not only am I going to do the challenge tasks daily myself & post my progress, but I’m also going to put a plan in place for me to relinquish some tasks for awhile. There’s no more for me to pour from; my cup is down to about a drop in it 😁!

     When I first decided to create the 31 Day Self-Care Challenge, it came from a suggestion from a few people. One of my sisters suggested something like it on the IG Live session last month, & my boss suggested it a few weeks ago. I figured I’d give the people what they want, since that’s what business is all about: customer satisfaction.

     Honestly, the challenge itself was pretty easy to create since most of the tasks are things I already do. I just had to add them to a calendar, put some links in it, & advertise to see who was interested. So far, I’ve gotten requests from people I don’t even know, & I feel like the mission was accomplished just by people showing interest. Hopefully it’ll help someone out with balancing their lives. That’s good enough for me!

     Next month is also our first family vacation with the entire family in about 8 years. It’ll be a few days for us all to get away from working & normal life & enjoy fun with our big family in one house. It’s been stressful to plan, but I’m excited to spend some time with my clan & make more memories. Time isn’t promised to anyone, so we have to live it up now!

     Even though I plan to do every bit of the challenge, I also plan on doing some lifestyle changes to see how those make me feel. Some of the things I’ve had going on are coming to a close, so that’ll help some. I know I need to talk a little more too. I tend to bottle things up sometimes until I explode. Journaling has helped, but the stress I’ve experienced lately is a little more extreme than what my poor journal can handle. I also need to get a set exercise & nutrition plan in place. I’ve been dragging my feet on them…it’s so hard for me to break up with food!!! I just need to all around get back to putting more into putting Meia first.

     Now I’m going to do my best to still handle my business with Intentional by posting on social media, sending biweekly emails, & blogging weekly, but if I go missing, just know I’m doing a little more self-care at the moment. However, we’re all going to join forces & kill this 31 Day Challenge! If you’re still in need of a copy, email me at info@intentionallyevolve.com to request one. Let’s do this!