So often, it seems that Moms don’t take the opportunity or don’t think we deserve a little reward. Or maybe it’s just that we think we need to “do more” to earn a little reward. And by reward, I mean anything from a favorite piece of candy to a week away…and anything in between. Why do we seem to struggle with rewarding ourselves?
Is it that we feel guilty doing anything that brings us happiness, because we are so used to fulfilling everyone else’s needs/desires/wants?
Is it that we are hardest on ourselves and don’t feel that we ‘deserve’ a reward until we accomplish something ‘bigger’?
I think we need realistic standards of rewards. What is the standard that you use to reward yourself?
— Getting through a tough week at work?
— Getting through a tough morning at home with the kids?
–Completing that thing that has been on my to do list for 6 months now?
— Earning a certain amount of income? Incentive trip? Bonus?
–Getting the baseboards clean on my first floor?
Think of the last time you rewarded yourself. What was the reward? What were the criteria you used to reward yourself? Then, set a realistic standard of reward for next time. For me…this morning on my day off, I took both kids to run errands for 4 hours…and we all got through it sanely….can you say hello to ‘sitting on my derrière for an hour long lunch at home by myself during nap time’?
I challenge you to reward yourself more often and have a realistic standard of reward for yourself. You do not have to save the world to justify a mani/pedi! You work hard as a Mom, allow yourself to be rewarded…for whatever the reason!