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Hey guys , welcome back . I

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was in the nail shop a couple

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of days ago and I ran into

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one of the most amazing

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young women that I have

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met in a really long time . I was a good

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little bit away from home , and getting

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my nails done is one

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of the acts of self-care that

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I employ every couple

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of weeks . I'm not a big

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fan of the extremely long nails

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, but I like for them to be manicured

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. And you know , nice little polish

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, you know , just kind of just enhances

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the hand , but I digress . So

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I decided to take a chance and

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go to a nail shop in the area that I

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was in and I ran

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into a the

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sweetest , the absolute sweetest

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spirit that I have encountered in a long time

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. Her name was Joyce . Joyce

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was about 20 years older than me and

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she led the conversation

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by offering

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a beautiful compliment . She said something along

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the lines of you look very

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refreshed or you look like a breath of

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fresh air or something similar

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to that . But the

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seed next to her was available

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and that's where I was seeded by the technician

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and our conversation

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just blossomed . We talked

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about her life

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prior to retirement

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, the places that she had lived , how

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much she loved the area that she was living

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in raising her daughters

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, being married

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for the second time . She said that her first

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husband had passed away when she was 50 years

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old and she was just so frantic

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and afraid she said she went to her

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doctor's office and

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she told her doctor that

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you know , she was really , really apprehensive

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about getting back out in

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the dating arena as a 50-year-old woman

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, she said . But she knew it was something that she had to

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do because she didn't

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want to die in the house by herself . And we laughed

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because she said her doctor said well

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, if you do , you won't know it anyway , which

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was true first

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of all , but it was cute

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. So , you know , joyce did

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find her second husband or her second husband

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found her of a firm believer

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in the notion

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that the man should definitely be the

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pursuer . So Joyce

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and I , we spent

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the rest of that morning or the next

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, at least 30 minutes to an

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hour together , and I wish

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I had gotten her phone number . Ladies

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, if you do not have one , please get

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an older woman in your life , somebody that

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you can talk to , that can be a mentor

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, that can guide you or

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at least be an ear , to listen

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and give you some words of wisdom where

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it counts the most . I definitely

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enjoyed her and hopefully , maybe one day

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I'll run into her

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again . The topic

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for today's episode is all about

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self-care , nourishing and

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nurturing your well-being . It's

3:11

so very important . It

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helps in all aspects of your life

3:16

your physical health , your mental

3:18

and emotional well-being , the

3:20

way that you show up , your productivity

3:22

, your performance . It improves relationships

3:25

. Just , it's

3:28

for you . People can

3:30

. It's called self-care , but it's very

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far from selfish . It's

3:34

self-less . We all deserve that . We

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all need that . Today's

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society is so fast-paced and

3:41

demanding . It's crucial

3:43

that we prioritize our own well-being

3:45

. By definition , self-care

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is taking care of oneself physically

3:50

, mentally , emotionally

3:52

and it plays a vital role in

3:54

maintaining a healthy and

3:57

balanced life . Let's

4:00

talk about physical health Front

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and center . It encompasses

4:05

various activities

4:07

. When you incorporate self-care . It

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can be exercise , nourishing

4:12

your body with healthy foods , getting

4:15

enough sleep . I

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definitely have not lacked

4:20

the mad department , but I want to share

4:22

a little bit about that later on

4:24

. Attending

4:26

to our physical needs those are

4:28

very essential components

4:30

of health care . When we prioritize

4:33

our physical health , we

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enhance our energy level , we

4:37

boost our immune system and

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just improve our overall vitality

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. When I say vitality , my

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son , my oldest son , who is 32

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years old today . Happy birthday , darling

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. I love you and here's to

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an amazing

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life ahead of you . He mentioned

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to me several months ago that

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the older people his

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aunts and uncles on his father's

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side of the family are very

5:07

vital individuals

5:09

, meaning that although

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they're older , because they have gotten up at

5:14

age , they're still very active , they

5:16

still work , they still drive , they're

5:18

still contributing to their

5:20

families and their communities

5:23

in such a robust and active

5:27

way . And that's all attributed

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to good genes , first of all , but

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the fact that they have

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always believed in self-care

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. They've always believed in and appreciated

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and cherished family , which is

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extremely important . But by engaging

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in self-care practices , you're

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able to prevent burnout and

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ensure longevity , which is

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the goal , for it

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should be the goal for everyone . Mental

5:58

and emotional well-being taking

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care of our mental health and emotional

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health is just as important

6:04

. By engaging in activities

6:06

that reduce stress , such

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as practicing mindfulness , engaging

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in hobbies that we enjoy All

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of those things significantly improve

6:16

our mental health . Taking

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time for self-reflection , setting

6:21

boundaries , seeking support

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when needed they're all vital aspects

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of self-care . Carrie Washington

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was on a podcast

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or talk show a couple of days ago and she said

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a couple of people who obviously

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don't know her as well as she thought

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were kind of making fun of her

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because she's had the same therapist

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for years and their

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statements were you know , well , maybe

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you need another therapist . You're

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still in therapy . And it's

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funny because people , whether

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they realize it or not , there's such a

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stigma around mental

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unwelness or mental health

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, when , in all honesty

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, the fact that she still has

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the same therapist it's

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probably one of the reasons why she has

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averted many crises in

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her life , because you don't just go to therapy

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when you're in crisis . You

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go to therapy to prevent crisis

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. So when we nurture our

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mental and emotional health , we enhance

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our resilience , reduce

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anxiety and don't have

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to walk around in a constant state

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of stress and cultivate

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a positive mindset . We

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are able to

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invest in ourselves

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. When we prioritize our self-care

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, we recharge

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, we rejuvenate and

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all of that ultimately enhances

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our productivity and performance

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in all areas of our life . By

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taking breaks again

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, setting those boundaries , goal

8:01

setting , ensuring a healthy

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work-life balance , we

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can avoid burnout

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and maintain

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a high level of efficiency and

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effectiveness . Self-care

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improves relationships . When

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I first started meditation

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and I do not practice it as much

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as I used to , and I

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really need to get back into that , because

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at one time I went hard on

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the guided meditation . Every

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now and then I was able to not

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necessarily have to use the apps that

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I had downloaded and just kind of

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set my intentions

8:44

for that particular session . But

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I enjoyed the guided meditation . I enjoyed

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being present with someone who

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was able to guide me through the practice

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, and the more you do it , the

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less you need that assistance , and

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I definitely I

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definitely need to get back into doing

9:01

that . But I would light my candles . I

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would find my little space in

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my Bedroom

9:08

. That is where I generally did my meditation

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and the people that were in my life at that

9:13

particular time knew that

9:15

for those 15 to 30 minutes

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I was on do not disturb

9:19

mode and it was a

9:21

beautiful experience . There are so

9:23

many apps many of them are free

9:25

simply be or is it simply

9:28

being Insight Timer

9:30

. There are so many apps available

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for you if you're interested

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in the practice of meditation

9:37

that were definitely beneficial for me

9:39

. So that's , I

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really enjoyed that . Self-care

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is whatever you want it to

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be . It can be a bubble

9:49

bath , it can be reading

9:52

a book , it can be retail

9:54

therapy , whatever

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you do for yourself

9:59

, because if you practice

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self-care and take

10:03

care of yourself , yourself

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will take care of you , and

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I know that may sound cliche , but

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it's about the easiest

10:13

or simplest way that

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I can put it . It's a beautiful thing

10:17

. I

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have never been a morning person and

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because I have made a

10:25

conscious effort over

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the last year to be present

10:29

, to be in the moment , I

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don't fret about the past , I

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don't worry about the future . The past

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is gone . The future is going to take

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care of itself . So

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I'm in the here and now

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and like clockwork . I

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don't know if I should attribute it to the

10:48

fact that I'm in one of the best mental

10:51

and physical spaces that I've ever been in

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in my life . But I

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wake up early in the morning with

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a smile on my face and

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gratitude in my heart and

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I realize that my

11:05

happiness is an internal manifestation

11:08

of my birthright . I

11:10

am not in this place by mistake

11:12

. Every misstep , every

11:15

mishap , every adversity

11:18

, every trial and tribulation

11:20

has led me to this point

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in my life and I'm grateful

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for it all . I'm so happy

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to be here and enjoying

11:29

and savoring every single

11:32

moment of it and looking forward to

11:34

the future more than ever before . I've

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got a birthday coming up in about a month , and

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so I'm just excited about

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what the remainder of this year and

11:45

what 2024 have

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in store for me . So just

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remember self care isn't a luxury

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, it's a necessity and

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it leads to a fulfilling

11:57

and balanced life . It's

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a deliberate practice that

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encompasses activities aimed

12:04

at nurturing our physical , mental

12:07

and emotional well-being . If

12:09

you prioritize self-care , or by

12:12

prioritizing self-care , you

12:14

enhance your physical health , you

12:16

improve your mental and emotional well-being

12:19

, you enhance your productivity

12:21

, the way that you show up for other people

12:23

, which , by default , fosters

12:26

better relationships . It's

12:28

crucial that we give ourselves

12:31

permission to prioritize

12:33

self-care and recognize

12:36

that by taking care of ourselves

12:38

, we're better equipped to take

12:40

care of other people and lead

12:42

and live more

12:45

joyful and purposeful

12:47

lives . So

12:50

, if you've been thinking

12:52

about it , if you've been putting

12:54

it off , do something for

12:57

yourself , something special , something

12:59

that your future self will thank you for

13:01

, and your past self will probably

13:04

be looking at you and shocked like what is she

13:06

doing ? Always remember

13:08

to put yourself first , and

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a lot of times when people

13:13

hear that we're so accustomed

13:16

to putting other people first that

13:18

we almost feel guilty . And

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I'm not saying neglect anything

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else in your life , but I

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am saying put yourself

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first . Thank

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you , guys for tuning in . Please

13:33

like , share and

13:35

subscribe to the podcast and

13:38

, as always , until next time

13:40

, take care and

13:42

remember to practice self-care

13:45

. Bye guys .