Join the 7-Day Self-Care Challenge!
This particular challenge is over, so Click here to enter the 5 for 5 Self-Care Challenge 2015!
Welcome to The 7-Day Self-Care Challenge! (#selfcarechallenge on social media)
I am so excited to share a week of self-care with you. Even more exciting are the two amazing prizes you could win by participating. Of course, if you do self-care every day and feel good, that’s a win for you, but prizes make things a little more interesting, don’t they?
Day 1: Finding Beauty
Day 2: Write it Out
Day 3: Drawing it Out
Day 4: Get Outside
Day 5: Hang with a Four-Legged Friend
Day 6: Painting
Day 7: Yoga
Prizes:
What can you win, you ask? I’ll tell you. The winner can choose from one of two prizes:
A spot in the Art Journaling 101 Workshop – Tuesday, September 23, 6 – 9 pm, in Foxboro, Massachusetts (Prize Value: $50)
We will learn about creating beautiful backgrounds, handmade foam stamps, layering text, and focusing on a theme.
OR,
Win a Portable Art Kit – This kit was personally assembled by me to help you be your most creative, expressive self, wherever you are. I will ship it to you whether you live in New Hampshire or New Zealand! (Prize value: $50)
How how exactly do I participate and possibly win, you ask? Read on, my friend.
What Is The 7-Day Self-Care Challenge?
Details, details… I want to help you take better care of yourself, and have fun doing it. The challenge is to spend a minimum of 5 minutes each day doing some self-care activity. I will provide you with a different prompt every day, some art-based, some not. You can either follow my prompts or do your own self-care thing. You might be into meditation, cooking, dancing, listening to music, photography, walking on the beach, connecting with an old friend, or any other nurturing activity – just do it! Be sure to comment on each day’s blog post so that you get your chance to win one of the prizes. Let’s have some fun!
How Do I Enter?
For each of the 7 days you do five minutes of self-care and comment about it on that day’s post by 11:59 PM EST, you get one chance to win. This means that if you participate and comment every day, you are entered in the drawing 7 times.
See the links below for the current day’s challenge!
Who Can Enter?
You must be14 or older to enter. You can live anywhere in the world, be male or female, and be any shape, size, gender, color, religion, etc.
Okay, he can’t enter.
Good luck! Remember, the challenge starts tomorrow, so get ready to have some fun and comment about it. See you then! If you like this, please share it with your friends and remember to use hashtag: #selfcarechallenge
Go to today’s challenge: YOGA!
Comments:
Does knowing that you have “permission” to take care of yourself help you commit to self-care? Does the idea of “self-care” make you feel like you are being self-indulgent or selfish? Would you be willing to use this week as an experiment and see if that’s true or not? Tell us about that and more in the comments.
Image Credits: Woman on couch in field: Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_wavebreakmediamicro’>wavebreakmediamicro / 123RF Stock Pa>hoto</ Dog surfing net: Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_damedeeso’>damedeeso / 123RF Stock Photo</a> Woman with balloons: Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_iko’>iko / 123RF Stock Photo</a>
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I’m in! What a great idea, can’t wait to participate 🙂
Hi Jennie:
I’m so glad to have you here on Maricle Counseling’s blog and to have you participate in the challenge. If you feel comfortable, tell us where you are from and what your favorite thing to do for self-care is.
All the best,
Amy
Sounds fantastic, I’m in, what a wonderful idea Amy!
Hi Amy:
What a treat to have you here, welcome. Your hand made books project is just lovely, I can’t wait to hear about what you are doing for self-care this week.
Cheers!
Amy
Amy,
So looking forward to taking time for myself…even if only for five minutes!
Thank you for inspiring.
Hi Elizabeth:
Welcome to the Maricle Counseling blog! I am so excited to have you participate, and am so pleased that it will be a boon to your self-care. Now I’m curious, what are you looking forward to doing for self-care?
All the best,
Amy
Hi Amy,
7-Day Self-Care Challenge: DAY 1
I added an extra five minutes to my morning walk with my dog by my side and the ocean in front of me. I also ran an extra five minutes on the treadmill!
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth:
You are getting ahead of me – there’s a challenge day with pets coming up. You will be all set. 😉 I love the sounds of an ocean side walk with the pooch and gifting yourself some extra exercise. I also checked out your Tumblr page. You have some really amazing drawings and paintings. I am very intrigued by your exploration of light and dark and what the minimal description is that would be needed to convey an idea in drawing. Very rich.
Thank you,
Amy
I’m in. Who can’t use 5 minutes to take care of yourself? Thanks for motivating!
Hi Tara!
Welcome to the Maricle Counseling blog! I’m so glad that you are going to join us and that you find it to be good motivation. I’m excited to hear about your self-care this week.
Cheers,
Amy
I’m in! Excited! How do I sign up?
Hi Katesha:
I’m excited about your excitement! Welcome to Maricle Counseling’s blog and the #selfcarechallenge. Each day this week is a new chance to enter, with a maximum of 7 chances. All you do is at least 5 minutes if self-care and then comment about it on that day’s post.
So do your self-care and then come on back and tell us about it. If you do an image if finding beauty, feel free to share it in Maricle Counseling’s Facebook page. You can do anything for self-care you wish, though.
All the best
Amy
in looking for an image that speaks to me on my bike ride today
and i will take a picture
love it!
Susan:
Welcome to Maricle Counseling’s blog. I can’t wait to hear about the photo here and hopefully see it on Maricle Counseling’s Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maricle-Counseling/171715502978182?ref_type=bookmark
🙂 Amy
Susan – Also be sure to comment on the post for today, Day 1: Finding Beauty, so that I will be sure to get your name entered in the sweepstakes.
All the best!
Amy
Thanks for doing this Amy!
HI Margarita:
Welcome to the Maricle Counseling blog! I hope you hop on over to today’s post and join us in Day 1 of the challenge by commenting on your self-care for today.
🙂 Amy
Hi Amy, I’m in and searching for beauty everywhere I go! I’ve got my phone ready to take a pic (ha!). Love the challenge, I could use some *me* time!
Hi Shazia:
I love the *me* time and can’t wait to see what you capture with your amazing and unique eye. Thanks for participating!
🙂 Amy
Amy, this is a fantastic idea…I’m stoked for you to have put this out there for us all to share in!
Maria – It’s so great to have you here on the blog. I’m stoked that you are participating. Will you share with us about what your self-care is today?
🙂 Amy
i had fun looking for beauty, i posted a picture of something that caught my eye.
i walked around harvard square for 5 minutes – took a few pictures of images that caught my eye – perked me up – gave me joy.
somehow i don’t have the f b address- though i posted this morning??
Hi Susan:
It’s so great to hear that you found joy in today’s challenge. I am so awed by yours and everyone’s heartfelt participation. Thank you, thank you!
Thank you for posting the lovely pic in Harvard Square on Facebook. I don’t find a second picture from you, feel free to post again! Here’s my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maricle-Counseling/171715502978182
Amy
Day 1: Finding Beauty: Today I found beauty in playground interactions, there was some beautiful waterplay, laughter, and shared narratives, gorgeous movements and sounds I had never heard before. I just sat and enjoyed what I experienced, it was definitely a way to care for myself.
Hi Amy:
Thank you for brining me along on your mindful trip to the playground. I have a beautiful, vivid scene in mind. Thank you for sharing it. And I wonder, where does your 365bookaday project fit into your self-care. Is that work? Self-care? Does it overlap? I find that as I make my business more art based, there are many intersections between work and art for me, redefining those lines is an intriguing process right now.
Cheers,
Amy
Not sure if I’m doing this right, but here it goes… My self-care today consisted of finally getting a chance to measure my running lactate threshold and anaerobic max capacity. Unfortunately, I was so focused on trying to do the testing correctly between using the lancing device, testing strips, etc., that I didn’t even think to take any pictures…
Hi Christine!
I think that doing something you have been putting off that will support an important self-care habit sounds just like self-care. You can’t do all that lancing, testing, strapping, and who knows what else plus try to appreciate other stuff. Whew! I hope it was a success, and thanks for sharing it. Welcome to the #selfcarechallenge!
Amy
Ok, today’s self care is very simple. I was sooo tired when I got home from work that I laid down for a few minutes and decided to let all my chores go unfinished and take a nap. I love the calming peacefulness that slowly envelopes you as you begin to drift off – my brain fills with thankfulness for everything I have, as well as appreciation for the day’s smiles and laughs… The ability to achieve a rested and rejuvenated state is such a wonderful treat!
Hi Christine:
Wow, I love your description of drifting off to sleep. It sounds so relaxing! Thank you for sharing that image.
Cheers,
Amy
Since I missed yesterday’s commenting I’ll let you know I did a dance video. I had sooo much fun doing it even though I’ve done it hundreds of times before just because– I love dancing & I love creating new dance moves out of moves I’m familiar with doing. Bottom line I had a blast!!
Mararita:
A dance video – that sounds so fun! It sounds like you are doing tons of creative things and have a blast with it regularly. Dance party!!
Amy
Today I spent time w/ a couple of other creatives, which I sometimes slack on due to the pressure “to get things done”. It was more than 5 min for sure & I enjoyed every minute of it!! Hey, I also made absolute sure I listened to music today, which I sometimes forgo doing.
Hi Margarita:
Do you have a group of people you make art with regularly? That sounds so fun. Would you tell us about it? I bet many people are searching for a group to keep them doing creative things regularly.
Cheers,
Amy
I missed posting last night, yesterday I spent time at the PEM, in a very relaxed way and simply enjoyed being there without thinking about hovering demands or outside pressures, this took a bit of mindfulness, but it worked.
HI Amy:
Thank you so much for commenting, even if it’s late. I love hearing about other people’s self-care practices, and I think it inspires the rest of the community here to learn about new things. Thank you.
Amy