31 Days of Giving ... To Myself

I am sure you have all heard of 31 Days of Giving.  Where you give something to someone each day for 31 days.  A batch of cookies to a friend.  A  donation to a food pantry.  Dinner for an elderly neighbor. 
I have done this each year for the past few years and every year I enjoy it more and more.   But this year I realized that I have enjoyed it because it is so easy.  I love giving little gifts.  I love making people happy with something special I make.  I love handing down a personal treasure.

This year I decided that I need to stretch myself.  I am going to give in a way that is more of a challenge for me.  I am going to give to myself.

Not things.  I am really good at giving things to myself .. pedicures, clothes, dinner out.  I am NOT good at giving myself the freedom to play.  I am not the kind of person who will sit on the couch on Saturday to watch TV unless my husband is sitting there.  I don't go for a walk on the beach unless that is the family plan for the day.  I will never leave the kids with my husband on the weekend so I can go to Whole Foods unless I truly didn't have a moment to get there during the week and we don't even have a carrot in the fridge.

I don't feel that I have the ability to let myself do what I want to at the moment.  If I am with other people, I feel like I need to let them tell me that I can take a moment for myself.  I don't even ask to hake a moment.  I don't feel okay asking.  I need someone to tell me to go do something for myself or even to take a break.  Until then I need to be contributing to the group.... doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, working, tending to the kids, paying the bills. 

I need to resolve this limiting belief on a deeper level but I think that 31 Days of Giving to Myself might be a good way to start getting used to a this behavior.

My plan is to give myself the ability, each day for 31 days, to do something I want to do without feeling uncomfortable about doing it instead of something that is a contribution to the group.  If I feel like going to Whole Foods on Saturday all by myself because that is enjoyable and my husband is around, then I am going to go.  If the day is beautiful and  I want to go for a walk I am not going to stop because that is not what everyone else wants to do.  I a,m not going to go with my husband to take the kids bike riding when I want to start making dinner.  I am going to start making choices for myself and not always for the group.  And I have a feeling that the group will actually be okay with my giving these things to myself.

YOUR TURN
Where do you need to give more in your life?   Try to focus on giving there at least once a day for the next 31 days.