What feeds your soul?
This is a very large question filled with incredible, easy to discover answers but sometimes the hardest to put into practice. As a new mom (daughter, 14 months) I have had a hard time feeding my soul without feeling guilty. Every time I do something for myself that feeds my soul (reading, writing, watching my favorite TV show or movie) I feel guilty that I am not spending that time with my daughter. Even if my daughter is asleep or playing by herself which my wife and I want her to be able to do I still feel guilty that I am taking the time for myself instead of her. The joys of motherhood!
dTaking a step back for a moment, what does feeding your soul mean? In the simplest sense it means doing something that you love and/or are passionate about. No one can find out what you love other than you but some things could include reading, meditating, yoga, soaking in the bath, writing, anything. The choice is up to you. But the thing you have to learn is feeding your soul isn’t about checking off something on your to do list. No, feeding your soul means whatever you are going to do is a part of who you are; a part of you that is going to ignite a fire within you that will spread to other parts of your life helping you become the best version of yourself. This is why you and only you can figure out what feeds your soul. No one can tell you. I can count of a hundred ways to feed your soul but they don’t mean anything unless you love to do these things. For some people, meditating is a way to clear the mind, refocusing yourself and recentering yourself to get you back on stable ground. For me, meditating isn’t what grounds me. Writing is what grounds me. Writing is what feeds my soul. And I haven’t done nearly enough of it since my daughter was born. But I know that I have to in order to become a better mother, wife, daughter, friend, and coworker.
Here is another thing: just doing one thing isn’t enough to feed your soul. You need to find a couple of things that feed your soul in different ways, different areas of the brain to make you happy and feel alive. For me, writing is one way to bring out the creative juices and make me think outside the box. Reading, watching my favorite television show or movie transports me to another world for however long I want to read and makes me focus on something else for awhile. Playing hockey/working out gets my heart pumping and invigorates me to work harder not just in a physical sense but in a mental sense as well. All 3 of the ways that feed my soul are equally as important because they work together to activate the best parts of me. With those parts activated, I can become the mother I want to be to my daughter. I can show her that doing things for yourself isn’t selfish; it is a necessary part of your life. It doesn’t take away time from others; it eventually gives you more energy and time to be with the ones you love because you are present with them.
It has taken me 14 months to really come to terms with the fact that I need to feed my soul as often as I possibly can and I shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Mom guilt, especially working mom guilt, is a thing and it rears its ugly head every single day. But what I have noticed is the more I feed my soul, the better mother I am to my daughter. I don’t wait for her to go to bed so I can watch TV or read a book or write because I found other times to do that already. It might seem simple on paper but it wasn’t so simple to me at first. I had to start feeding my soul and that was the roughest part. But I have an incredible wife who supports me and knows that the more I do things like this, the better wife and mother I am going to be.
Getting back to the topic at hand, feeding your soul is crucial to being the best version of yourself. You need to be able to do things just for you that satisfy your passions. And getting started is one of the hardest parts of it all. But once you do, the need to keep feeding becomes overwhelming not only in the activities that feed your soul but in other areas of your life. You can have more energy and focus in your job which in turn increases your productivity. Everything is a domino effect once you start feeding your soul.
It has worked for me in ways I never thought possible. It can and will certainly work for you.
dTaking a step back for a moment, what does feeding your soul mean? In the simplest sense it means doing something that you love and/or are passionate about. No one can find out what you love other than you but some things could include reading, meditating, yoga, soaking in the bath, writing, anything. The choice is up to you. But the thing you have to learn is feeding your soul isn’t about checking off something on your to do list. No, feeding your soul means whatever you are going to do is a part of who you are; a part of you that is going to ignite a fire within you that will spread to other parts of your life helping you become the best version of yourself. This is why you and only you can figure out what feeds your soul. No one can tell you. I can count of a hundred ways to feed your soul but they don’t mean anything unless you love to do these things. For some people, meditating is a way to clear the mind, refocusing yourself and recentering yourself to get you back on stable ground. For me, meditating isn’t what grounds me. Writing is what grounds me. Writing is what feeds my soul. And I haven’t done nearly enough of it since my daughter was born. But I know that I have to in order to become a better mother, wife, daughter, friend, and coworker.
Here is another thing: just doing one thing isn’t enough to feed your soul. You need to find a couple of things that feed your soul in different ways, different areas of the brain to make you happy and feel alive. For me, writing is one way to bring out the creative juices and make me think outside the box. Reading, watching my favorite television show or movie transports me to another world for however long I want to read and makes me focus on something else for awhile. Playing hockey/working out gets my heart pumping and invigorates me to work harder not just in a physical sense but in a mental sense as well. All 3 of the ways that feed my soul are equally as important because they work together to activate the best parts of me. With those parts activated, I can become the mother I want to be to my daughter. I can show her that doing things for yourself isn’t selfish; it is a necessary part of your life. It doesn’t take away time from others; it eventually gives you more energy and time to be with the ones you love because you are present with them.
It has taken me 14 months to really come to terms with the fact that I need to feed my soul as often as I possibly can and I shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Mom guilt, especially working mom guilt, is a thing and it rears its ugly head every single day. But what I have noticed is the more I feed my soul, the better mother I am to my daughter. I don’t wait for her to go to bed so I can watch TV or read a book or write because I found other times to do that already. It might seem simple on paper but it wasn’t so simple to me at first. I had to start feeding my soul and that was the roughest part. But I have an incredible wife who supports me and knows that the more I do things like this, the better wife and mother I am going to be.
Getting back to the topic at hand, feeding your soul is crucial to being the best version of yourself. You need to be able to do things just for you that satisfy your passions. And getting started is one of the hardest parts of it all. But once you do, the need to keep feeding becomes overwhelming not only in the activities that feed your soul but in other areas of your life. You can have more energy and focus in your job which in turn increases your productivity. Everything is a domino effect once you start feeding your soul.
It has worked for me in ways I never thought possible. It can and will certainly work for you.
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