This is a great visual reminder to encourage filling my tank with self care throughout the day.
I know I need to fill my tank with self care when my jaw feels tight, my stomach glitches, and my breathing gets fast and shallow. Or I become the 'Should Mama', 'Tilly the Taskmaster' or 'Cathy Complainer.' Seeing a visual reminder helps!
I know my kids' need self care to re-center when they start to fight with one another or become less cooperative. I now know to ask them when they seem off track, "What do you notice in your body right now? How would you like to fill your tank?"
You can do this exercise on your own or with your children. Gather what you have around the house for art supplies. OK if just ball point pens and computer paper. The key is fun not artistic perfection. If you have art paper or colored paper all the better as that can spark creative juices, just as colored pens and pencils or scissors to cut out shapes.
There is no right way for this visual self care map to turn out. The beauty is in the process, not the result; we each do this for ourselves. The exercise is adapted from a Brene Brown course I took called, The Gifts of Imperfection, named after her book.