Choose YOU!!!

Over the last few weeks I’ve introduced you to some of my blogging friends and their thoughts on ‘What brings purpose and meaning’ to their lives. This week in the final guest series for #MakingMarchMeaningful is Peta Gillian from Strong Healthy Women.

I’ve only known Peta for a short time but she has had a huge impact on my life. Today she is writing about why we should think about ourselves more. You can connect with Peta through the links at the end of her post.

Choose YOU!!!

This month is mindfulness and I’m sure you’ll get loads of great tips on “how to” and the “benefits” during the month and I could share my view and tips as well.  But… I wanted to have you think a little on choosing YOU.

I’ve been humbled over the years by women telling me their stories. Stories of health, illness, joy, sadness, and every emotion in between.  The common thread is wanting to be healthy but uncovering the need for a place to be… a place to belong… somewhere that is just about them, even if for a short time. 

That is why community (our tribe, sisterhood) whether on-line or in-person is an essential part of our life.  Our soul needs to connect with others to feel complete. 

Each morning when you wake up, do you choose YOU? 

Instead of jumping out of bed, take a moment for you.  It doesn’t take a lot of time.

Close your eyes, take a deep breathe and think of what you are grateful for.  Then exhale out.  Do these 3 times.  I call these Thankful Breaths.  It allows you a few precious moments to choose you before the day starts. 

I remember years ago, inviting a life coach to speak at an event and we were to prioritise our list.  In a room of 100 women, 2 women chose themselves first. 

One of the women responded, “my family think I’m self-centred when I want to do something for myself”.  “Isn’t this selfish”?  Heck NO!

As women, we naturally want to support and care for others in our circle.  This is one of the qualities I love about us.  This quality can also stop us from caring about ourselves.  Like most things in life there are 2 ways to view it.

Here’s how I like to view “Choosing You”.

• You know yourself better than anybody else.
• You understand when your body and mind is tired.
• Deep down you know when enough is enough.

Think about being your own best friend and when you keep pushing yourself to do more and more… Stop!!! Take a deep breathe… exhale out… and give yourself permission to choose you.

You’d say to your best friend, “come on, lets have a coffee and time out, you deserve it”.  And you do! Try being your own best friend this week.

Being mindful is making the choose to be here, right now in this very moment.  When you chose this very moment, you chose SELF-CARE and the things that are important to your life right now.  But not just now… these choices, impact your tomorrows. 

Self-Care can look different for each one of us:

• Colouring
• Reading
• Bubble Baths
• Massage
• Facial
• Manicure or Pedicure or Both
• Hiking
• Swimming
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Dancing
• The list goes on…

From the words of Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality “people love people, who care about themselves”.

Choose YOU!!!

Peta Gillian is a qualified fitness and lifestyle professional with 14 years’ experience working with women.  Featured in Prevention Magazine, a regular on the Fit N Fifty Plus Podcast Show and a Finalist in the Australian Fitness Industry Awards, Peta is passionate about helping women 50+ to remain fit, healthy and mobile throughout their lives.

Peta is the creator of FITFlex (a fitness and flexibility program for women 50+), FastFIT and Fuelled Up and launched Ageless Confidence in 2018 from her desire to give back to the community and help women no matter what stage of life to “believe they can, and they do”. 

She started her own well-being journey after watching the effects of preventable disease on the women in her family.  She faced a health issue of her own in her 40’s.  And then menopause hit her like a tonne of bricks, which started the process of research and finding her way through strategies that completely transformed her health and has since taught these same strategies to thousands of other women. 

Peta loves skiing, hiking, travelling, staying active and loves reading to learn and grow.

Connect with Peta

Strong Healthy Women  (Facebook Business Page)

Where Age, Health & Life Inspire (FREE FACEBOOK Group)

Website (currently be redesigned)