This whole 30 Days thing began last year when Monica created 30 Days of Thanks on her blog. This year, so pregnant that she’s about to burst having just had a new baby, she wasn't really able to focus on it, but her friend Heather decided she would do it on her own blog, and invite people to play along--even if Monica couldn’t.
Seeing Heather's invite, Stacy loved what she saw and jumped on the bandwagon, and thinking it was a marvelous thing, said to Heather, “You know, this is such a magical idea, why don’t we create a site about 30 Days of Thanks, and, in a bigger way, invite others to play, too!" Heather thought it was a great idea, and that’s how it all began.
November gave way to December, and with so many people loving what they learned about themselves, others, and the world by consciously giving thanks for things every day, Stacy decided to keep the good juju going with 31 Days of Wishes (31DoW). Fast forward 31 days, and here we are. It’s a new year, a new decade, and time to move into 31 Days of Self Care.
What we know for sure is that if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else.
Stacy learned that most powerfully from her friend Cheryl, who, when writing her best-selling book, Take Time for Your Life, reminded Stacy that on an airplane, they always tell a parent to put on his/her own oxygen mask before helping a child put his on.
Putting yourself first isn’t selfish—at least not in a negative way. And doing it doesn’t have to take gobs of time or effort. Even little bits of care mean a whole lot!
And we’re doing this at the beginning of the year for several important reasons:
1. You deserve to come first, so let’s start out the year focusing on you
2. Doing 31 things for yourself will give you a jump on the rest of the year
3. It’s easier (and more sustainable) than doing resolutions!
No matter where in the month of January we are when you read this, we invite you to jump in.
Here's how to play
What you do each day can be big or small—it doesn’t matter, because even 31 small things will add up to some really good stuff by month’s end!
It could be something simple, like starting to actually floss your teeth. Or washing your makeup off before going to bed. Or going for a walk during breaks at work rather than sitting and vegging (although sitting and vegging could actually be what you need most, and for some people could be an act of self care!).
It could be something bigger, like starting an exercise program, or taking a class to teach you to prepare healthy meals.
It could be something intangible, like learning how to say no, or how to set appropriate boundaries with people in your life.
It could be cleaning out your closet or drawers. Or working with a talented image consultant to create your own style.
It can be literally anything at all—as long as it’s for YOU.
Truly, doing it is enough. Sharing it is a gift to the world, because there are so very many people (we bet you know a lot of them!) who really struggle to do good things for themselves! And, as you share what you’re doing, you shine a light—a light that tells others that it’s ok for them to do it, too. So it’s great modeling for others, and especially great modeling for kids. If you have them, imagine what they’ll learn from you this month!
If you decide you want to share what you’re doing for self care, you might simply say it aloud. Or you might choose to write it on paper, blog about it, draw it, or sing it! As with 30 Days of Thanks and 31 Days of Wishes, there's simply no wrong way to do this. Just make the way you do it your own--as unique and special as you are!
Don't have a blog? That's a-ok because bloggers don't have the lock on sharing what they’re doing! You can still play by writing in a journal, on napkins at lunch (think how cool it would be to have 31 napkins at the end of the month you could create a lifemap or an album with, or frame!), or on anything at all. What's powerful is the practice, and the every day consistency.
And if you want to do this on a blog but don't currently have one, you can always set one up quickly and easily with services like Vox, Wordpress, Typepad, and Blogger. Maybe this can be the inspiration that will get you started!
Want something more simple, but online? Consider Posterous, or posting a note to your Facebook page. Tweeting would be a grand way to share your thankfulness (add the hashtag #31DoSC to your tweets so we can all track them and see them!)
3. Grab the graphic and put it on your blog in your sidebar. Link to us (this is an important part!) so other people can find out about 31 Days of Self Care and join in the fun. (Need help with this? There's a tab at the top of this screen named Graphic Instructions. Click it to find some handy instructions). Please don't link to the graphic here. It won't show up on your blog well if you do.
4. Email us when you begin (30daysofthanks at gmail dot com). Tell us the name of your blog, and the URL, and we’ll add to the list of other fabulous people playing along. That way, site visitors and other wish-filled people can visit your blog and get a heaping helping of your self care experiences that then might spark their own. Using another online tool? Let us know how to find your posts. And if you're doing this offline, we'd still love to hear from you about what you're doing (maybe with a pic or two we can share!).
If you're playing on Facebook or Twitter, let us know that as well, along with your username on Twitter, and your Facebook URL if you're interested in more friends and followers who are like-minded. Even if we know you, please don't assume we know this info--it just slows us down to go find it, and you can make it easy by giving it to us so please do! :) In the absence of a Twitter username and/or Facebook URL, we'll just list your name as someone joining this month (as if you were not posting online).
5. Spread the love if you feel moved to. Tweet about this with a link to us. Write about it on FB (and import your blog to your profile if you already don’t!) so that your FB friends can read what you're wishing for (the ripple effect of this is enormously yummy). Email bloggers you know who might enjoy joining us. Leave comments on blogs you think would fit with our theme this month. Really--just keep us in mind, and let people know about us if you think of it, and feel good about doing it. The more people who play means the more people who are being reached by this work, and we think that's just a wonderful thing!
6. Visit the blogs of other wishful people (the list is below). Leave comments for them. Start/build some new relationships with like-minded folks.If they're using Facebook or Twitter consider friending them and following them. Relationships are juicy, and there's a lot to be thankful for in them!
7. Notice if anything changes for you this month…and let us know about it. We very much believe that focusing on goodness brings more goodness. We'd like to see what happens for you!
Seeing Heather's invite, Stacy loved what she saw and jumped on the bandwagon, and thinking it was a marvelous thing, said to Heather, “You know, this is such a magical idea, why don’t we create a site about 30 Days of Thanks, and, in a bigger way, invite others to play, too!" Heather thought it was a great idea, and that’s how it all began.
November gave way to December, and with so many people loving what they learned about themselves, others, and the world by consciously giving thanks for things every day, Stacy decided to keep the good juju going with 31 Days of Wishes (31DoW). Fast forward 31 days, and here we are. It’s a new year, a new decade, and time to move into 31 Days of Self Care.
What we know for sure is that if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else.
Stacy learned that most powerfully from her friend Cheryl, who, when writing her best-selling book, Take Time for Your Life, reminded Stacy that on an airplane, they always tell a parent to put on his/her own oxygen mask before helping a child put his on.
Putting yourself first isn’t selfish—at least not in a negative way. And doing it doesn’t have to take gobs of time or effort. Even little bits of care mean a whole lot!
And we’re doing this at the beginning of the year for several important reasons:
1. You deserve to come first, so let’s start out the year focusing on you
2. Doing 31 things for yourself will give you a jump on the rest of the year
3. It’s easier (and more sustainable) than doing resolutions!
No matter where in the month of January we are when you read this, we invite you to jump in.
Here's how to play
1. First and foremost, get that these aren't New Years resolutions. While they may be recurring things (like flossing), they can also be individual things. And the goal isn't to make huge resolutions--we know most people never keep those. The goal is to do 31 good things for yourself this month. That's it.
2. Every day for the 31 days in January, do something truly good for yourself. Just for yourself—with no one else in mind except yourself.
What you do each day can be big or small—it doesn’t matter, because even 31 small things will add up to some really good stuff by month’s end!
It could be something simple, like starting to actually floss your teeth. Or washing your makeup off before going to bed. Or going for a walk during breaks at work rather than sitting and vegging (although sitting and vegging could actually be what you need most, and for some people could be an act of self care!).
It could be something bigger, like starting an exercise program, or taking a class to teach you to prepare healthy meals.
It could be something intangible, like learning how to say no, or how to set appropriate boundaries with people in your life.
It could be cleaning out your closet or drawers. Or working with a talented image consultant to create your own style.
It can be literally anything at all—as long as it’s for YOU.
Truly, doing it is enough. Sharing it is a gift to the world, because there are so very many people (we bet you know a lot of them!) who really struggle to do good things for themselves! And, as you share what you’re doing, you shine a light—a light that tells others that it’s ok for them to do it, too. So it’s great modeling for others, and especially great modeling for kids. If you have them, imagine what they’ll learn from you this month!
If you decide you want to share what you’re doing for self care, you might simply say it aloud. Or you might choose to write it on paper, blog about it, draw it, or sing it! As with 30 Days of Thanks and 31 Days of Wishes, there's simply no wrong way to do this. Just make the way you do it your own--as unique and special as you are!
Don't have a blog? That's a-ok because bloggers don't have the lock on sharing what they’re doing! You can still play by writing in a journal, on napkins at lunch (think how cool it would be to have 31 napkins at the end of the month you could create a lifemap or an album with, or frame!), or on anything at all. What's powerful is the practice, and the every day consistency.
And if you want to do this on a blog but don't currently have one, you can always set one up quickly and easily with services like Vox, Wordpress, Typepad, and Blogger. Maybe this can be the inspiration that will get you started!
Want something more simple, but online? Consider Posterous, or posting a note to your Facebook page. Tweeting would be a grand way to share your thankfulness (add the hashtag #31DoSC to your tweets so we can all track them and see them!)
3. Grab the graphic and put it on your blog in your sidebar. Link to us (this is an important part!) so other people can find out about 31 Days of Self Care and join in the fun. (Need help with this? There's a tab at the top of this screen named Graphic Instructions. Click it to find some handy instructions). Please don't link to the graphic here. It won't show up on your blog well if you do.
4. Email us when you begin (30daysofthanks at gmail dot com). Tell us the name of your blog, and the URL, and we’ll add to the list of other fabulous people playing along. That way, site visitors and other wish-filled people can visit your blog and get a heaping helping of your self care experiences that then might spark their own. Using another online tool? Let us know how to find your posts. And if you're doing this offline, we'd still love to hear from you about what you're doing (maybe with a pic or two we can share!).
If you're playing on Facebook or Twitter, let us know that as well, along with your username on Twitter, and your Facebook URL if you're interested in more friends and followers who are like-minded. Even if we know you, please don't assume we know this info--it just slows us down to go find it, and you can make it easy by giving it to us so please do! :) In the absence of a Twitter username and/or Facebook URL, we'll just list your name as someone joining this month (as if you were not posting online).
5. Spread the love if you feel moved to. Tweet about this with a link to us. Write about it on FB (and import your blog to your profile if you already don’t!) so that your FB friends can read what you're wishing for (the ripple effect of this is enormously yummy). Email bloggers you know who might enjoy joining us. Leave comments on blogs you think would fit with our theme this month. Really--just keep us in mind, and let people know about us if you think of it, and feel good about doing it. The more people who play means the more people who are being reached by this work, and we think that's just a wonderful thing!
6. Visit the blogs of other wishful people (the list is below). Leave comments for them. Start/build some new relationships with like-minded folks.If they're using Facebook or Twitter consider friending them and following them. Relationships are juicy, and there's a lot to be thankful for in them!
7. Notice if anything changes for you this month…and let us know about it. We very much believe that focusing on goodness brings more goodness. We'd like to see what happens for you!
8. NEW! Stacy's going to be hosting a weekly virtual book salon and facilitating the reading and discussion of Cheryl Richardson's Take Time for Your Life. Want details? Email her (stacy @ stacybrice dot com). The salon will begin the week of Jan 4th, so don't delay!
Blogs where you'll find 31DoSC entries
- Listening to My Life (Stacy's blog)
- Running My Life (Heather's blog)
- Write Well Me
- Learning Life's Lessons
- Hungry For Life
- Embracing My Truth
- The Virtual Zone
- Virtual Zen
- Denise's Pieces
- Amy Thill
- My Mommy Brain
- Ain't Misbehavin'
- From the Desk of Janet Barclay
- A Work in Progress
People talking about 31DoSC on Facebook
People Tweeting about 31DoSC
