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Reflection:

Since I’m starting MotherLisa.com over from scratch, I figured it would be a great time to reflect on this post I made almost a year ago now, so enjoy the snippets. <3

A new year is upon us which is a great time to hold space for reflecting and resetting. During my time of reflecting, I beamed with joy at myself after realizing everything I had accomplished and gained. I overcame the worries of childbirth and welcomed our newest bundle into the world, I joined two life-changing certification programs, and finally got the hang of homeschooling and home life despite everything that was against me. While I am proud of myself for these accomplishments, I realized I haven’t truly prioritized self-care.

I have been neglecting to thoroughly care for myself in the ways that truly matter. Like most people. the thought of self-care for me involved bubbles and expensive chocolate, but the truth is that self-care is much deeper than that. Mental and spiritual care is where the real, long-lasting changes happens. Listed below are the forms of self-care I will be more intentional about prioritizing while going into the new year and beyond.

I started off strong with a therapy session on the first day on the year, and I look forward to reflecting back a year from now with these methods of self-care being prioritized.

Reflection:

Look at me now, almost a year later… my newest bundle is now running and talking, I have graduated from BOTH programs, and homeschool and home life? I’ll save that update for its own post...

Photo by Alex Nemo Hanse on Unspalsh

Achieving Goals

I met some goals in 2024 that I am proud of, but there were far more goals set than there were achieved. I have the ability to effortlessly create goals and allow the ideas to flow, but after hours of planning, little effort went into actually following through with said goals. How do I intend to overcome this?

By creating S.M.A.R.T goals, I will have a 90% chance of achieving my goals, according to Google’s AI response. S.M.A.R.T goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

For example: my main goal for January is to follow through with my planned content calendar. To be specific, I will post according to the content planned. This will be measured by the number of posts planned versus posted. 17 blog posts (1 down now, 28 FB posts, and 10 YouTube videos. This is attainable due to the simplicity of the content planned along with the resources and time I have to create the content. This goal is relevant to my overall’s desire to heal my inner child and create opportunities for my future self. The deadline for this goal is February 1st, 2025.

Reflection:

That was cute… While the goal was indeed S.M.A.R.T, the “attainable” bit was a tad overzealous. I LOVE how passionate and eager I get when I’m in planning mode, but I ALWAYS overcommit and completely ignore what I am actually capable of achieving in certain time frames. As I get older, this is an area I’m improving in and my goals for 2026 are better aligned with the growth.

Photo by Christian Mackie on Unsplash

Maintaining a Clean Space

This form of self-care is not a new one for me, but an overlooked one. A home for a family of five (with three of the five depending on the other two) can create quite many piles of random things and so much dust. My husband and I keep the high traffic areas in order pretty well, but our laundry corner and storage were a bit out of hand. After deep cleaning and decluttering, I remembered how great a clean, clear space felt.

In the fall, I did a huge purge of toys, clothes, and household items that were just taking up space, so I know this year’s weekly and seasonal deep cleanings won’t be as difficult to maintain. I will enjoy the relaxing energy of a decluttered space, an ideal space for healing.

Reflection:

I’m proud to say this kept up throughout the year… possibly too much. At the expense of my housemate’s joy, there were many decluttering sessions and purges when things felt overwhelming, but the space did feel nice! In 2026, I plan to have a bit more balance in this approach. We can have things we love and enjoy AND have them maintained. Our newly rearranged homeschool/play area is a reflection of that.

Photo by Jamie Hagan on Unsplash

Practicing Self-Awareness and Reflection

Practicing self-awareness and reflection is another skill I am improving in 2025. Thanks to Jai Institute for Parenting, I have had plenty of opportunities to gain new tools and practice self-awareness and self-reflection. After talking with my therapist, she reminded me that this is a “blanket-term”, so the tools I will be specifically focusing on are…

• Taking time throughout the day to feel and name my feelings
• Taking note of the thoughts I have throughout the day
• Challenging negative self-talk with positive ones
• Utilizing active and reflective listening

Reflection:

THIS is why reflecting back on where you started is SO important. After reading the first goal I set, a part of me felt pretty discouraged. It’s painful seeing how sure I was about something and coming out at the end it knowing it didn’t work out. 2025 didn’t turn out at all like I thought it would, but one thing I did for sure is increase my levels of self-awareness and improved my ability to reflect in a way the encourages me and align more with who I desire to be. I am incredibly grateful for that growth and thank God for carrying me through it all.

Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash

Practicing Mindfulness

Another “blanket-term”. For me, mindfulness practices will include: journaling, yoga, Pilates, and breathwork. Mostly breathwork. There are loads of mindfulness practices that can be utilized for self-care, but these are the ones I am choosing to prioritize (for now).

At one point, my morning routine consisted of morning prayer, journaling, and yoga or Pilates. The routine was short lived due to the unrealistic and unattainable parameters I set for it, going forward I know to give myself grace and meet me where I am. Which is another form of self-care on its own.

Reflection:

Did you peep the self-awareness in that one? XD

That morning routine was a bit shaky for quite sometime, but I did flow back into it. I don’t always show up perfectly or do every step (I integrated a Bible study after journaling), but when I do show up I notice a huge improvement in my overall well-being. I feel human, whole, and aligned with something greater.

Photo by Sunday || Sunday on Unsplash

Caring For My Physical Self

Caring for your physical self IS important, physical care can look like eating a nutritious meal when you’re hungry or flossing/brushing your teeth… things most people do already. For me, caring for my physical self will be…

Sleeping at bedtime instead of doom scrolling, caring for my feet through soaks, walking barefoot outdoors, weekly hair maintenance (I’m a 4c girlie), and bi-weekly mani-pedis at a local dermatologist clinic.

I am most excited about the foot care I am prioritizing this year. I felt a big spiritual blockage throughout 2024, and I learned that caring for your feet can remove blockages and aid in the improvement of your spiritual health.

Reflection:

We can’t have it all, right? I have done much better about going to bed at a decent time and decreasing the amount of screentime. I’m also more intentional with keeping my feet super moisturized, but that’s about it. I’m hopeful that all the internal work I have been doing will continue to pour out externally throughout the year. I have already noticed myself being more intentional with how I show up and I look forward to seeing that intention evolve.

Photo by Sipho Ndebele on Unsplash

Utilizing Support Systems

I have been blessed with an amazing support system. My husband, my two closets friends, my family, my therapist, and my Jai cohort truly set the tone for what a strong support system looks like. 2024 was all about recognizing the support I have and where to find support. 2025 will be all about actually utilizing my support system instead of “suffering in silence”.

While I work on gaining my parent coach certification, I also want to practice being support for others. Throughout the year, I will shape this platform along with my platform on Facebook to create a comfortable, safe gateway to virtual support. No matter where someone is in the world, if I can offer love and encouragement through my content and interactions, then I will gladly do so!

Reflection:

I DID DO THAT! There was a moment this year that was ROUGH to put it nicely. After a major life change, I found myself in a state of disassociation and depersonalization. I was in no position to care for others, so to prioritize the health and safety of myself and my children, I made the choice to rely on the system previously mentioned and I am SO grateful for that. They supported me during a time when I didn’t know if I could care for myself, but God! I made it through and I feel SO MUCH BETTER on the other side of things. Thank you, God.

Photo by Gioia M on Unsplash

Healing My Inner Child

Lastly, healing my inner child will be a continued pursuit. I have been focusing more and more on “little Lisa” as I call her and I have learned more ways to support and heal her over the years. I still have plenty to learn, but I look forward to developing a deeper understanding of what “healing my inner child” truly looks likes.

Outside of everything previously listed above, these are things I have started and will continue to do along with some new things to heal little Lisa:

• Playing my favorite childhood games
• Allowing myself to live authentically and unapologetically
• Stating positive affirmations to myself
• Hugging myself

In the beginning of this post, I mentioned how January’s goal aligns with my overall intention of self-care and healing my inner child. I have wanted to be a content creator for as long as I can remember. There are so many memories of sleepless nights binge watching Youtuber’s vlogs and routines, DIY projects, and home cook videos. I did so much watching instead of doing. I took all the time these last few years planning to do it and saying I’d do it. 2025 is the year to actually do… for little Lisa more than anything.

Reflection:

I didn’t do ALL of these, gaming took a huge back seat, but my heart still yearns for it. Allowing myself to unmask increases. Being kinder to myself felt easier. I haven’t fully embrace self-hugs, but I do love a nice face caress, thigh rub, and foot massage from me.

Little Lisa is leading the charge of my journey as a Software Engineer. I am officially certified through Triple Ten and have even developed and deployed a full-stack project along with a digital prayer board with fully integrated Bible, you can check both of them out on my GitHub!

In a nutshell…

2025 is my year of intentional deep self-care. It is refreshing to think about how I will feel after a year of achieving goals, maintaining a physically and mentally clean space, and utilizing my support system. I know little Lisa will feel so free in the improved headspace.

What are your intentions for 2025? Do you have any major goals you’d like to meet in the new year? What does self-care look like for you? Remember to give yourself grace and meet you where you are at.

I’d love to hear your thoughts below. <3

Reflection:

Looking back on 2025, I actually feel pretty good. I feel the growth and know I am on a beautiful path that is aligned with actually meeting all of these goals listed… one day. I won’t say it’ll happen in 2026, but I will say that my focus for 2026 is setting me up nicely to make it happened exactly when it should.