GGTG Program asks participants to commit to at least one Daily Practice. Over time, this daily commitment to oneself builds a foundation on which you walk the path from Good Girl to Goddess, coming into more authenticity, joy and peace.
In our recent series of GGTG Collective discussions, we have focused on the why and how of our Daily Practices, which are:
- Meditation
- Coming back into the body
- Taking time for yourself
- Daily self-love
- Journaling
- Creation, imagination, and play!
These Daily Practices reflect a menu of options that each GGTG participant can select from to commit to giving back to themselves each and every day.
In this blog series, we discuss the purpose behind each of these Daily Practices and the different ways they can be approached. This will allow participants to fit them into their schedule, their own sense of joy, and their unique sense of authenticity discovered over time.
We started with meditation, moved onto coming into the body, and in this blog we explore the why and how of taking time for ourselves, truly the cornerstone of the GGTG Program.
Taking time for ourselves – Why?
One of the central aspects of the Good Girl is her tendency to put others first most of the time – if not all of the time! She has seen herself through the eyes of others’ approval and measures her success through the satisfaction of others’ needs. This pattern has created an identity that is focused entirely outward, leaving very little time, attention or energy for the journey inward.
Taking time for ourselves is the first step back home to who we truly are. Our value is not measured by our ability to make other people happy – our value is intrinsic, and it starts right where we are.
Without putting ourselves first, we fail to prioritize ourselves in our busy schedules and, over time, we lose sight of what makes us happy and what fulfills our needs. This can go so far as causing illness as we ignore the signals of our bodies in service to getting things done for other people.
We can’t pour from an empty cup, so taking time for ourselves will actually make us more effective in the service of others – if you needed a Good Girl hack to really drive this point home, this is it! You can’t do your best for others if you don’t bring your best self, and you can’t bring your best self if she’s exhausted, drained, and neglected.
Taking time for ourselves – How?
It can be a challenge at first to carve out a part of the day in service only to ourselves with no other hidden people pleasing agendas, so start small. Even 10 to 15 minutes a day is a great starting point, and with commitment, over time it will feel more natural and you can ramp it up from there.
During that time, do what you love – check out our Bliss List recommendations from the last GGTG Daily Practices blog. Use this list of things you really enjoy to entice you to sticking to your commitment to take time to yourself.
Once you’ve established a length of time and activity or practice, protect it at all costs! This might be easier in the morning, if you’re an early bird, or last thing before bed if you’re a night owl.
If you’re really struggling with this practice, be gentle with yourself – try stacking time for yourself with other necessary activities like commuting, exercising, or doing chores. Use that time intentionally to listen to music you love, a podcast you’re into, or an audiobook (nothing work-related– complete schmalzy romance novels are perfect!).
What are we trying to achieve?
The Good Girl has spent so much time focused outside of herself, she’s separated from who she authentically is. There is a lot of dissociation in this archetype – every time we have chosen someone else’s needs over our own, we’ve left a part of ourselves behind. If you look back down the path you’ve walked, you will find lost parts of yourself, needs left unmet, goals not pursued, passions discarded.
We are retracing our steps with this practice – taking time for ourselves to walk back down that path and reclaim those lost and discarded parts so we can integrate them back into our adult selves.
Believe me, your inner child will thank you! More on daily self-love and inner child work at our next GGTG Collective catch-up! I hope you can join me and the growing community of women healing their Good Girl to unfurl the Goddess within.