What Did You Give Up?
Last night I took a bath.
I don’t mean a quick shower before bed. I mean a real bath. Hot water. Epsom salts. Time to soak. Time to think.
It was the first one I’d had in years.
The funny thing is, I love baths. I’ve always loved baths.
So why had I gone years without one?
Because somewhere along the way, I stopped arranging my life around things that nourished me.
I suspect I’m not the only woman who’s done that.
Most of us don’t wake up one morning and decide to abandon ourselves. It happens gradually. A little compromise here. A little sacrifice there. The things that bring us comfort, joy, creativity, or peace slowly get pushed to the edge of the table while everyone else’s needs move to the center.
We tell ourselves it’s temporary. We’ll get back to it later. After the children are grown. After the job settles down. After the crisis passes. After retirement.
After. After. After.
And one day we wake up and realize years have gone by. The painting supplies are dusty. The piano hasn’t been touched. The hiking boots are in the back of the closet. The dream has become a memory.
The thing we loved is still waiting for us. We’ve simply stopped showing up for it.
Last night, sitting in that bathtub, I realized something.
The bath wasn’t important because it was a bath. It was important because it represented something I had reclaimed. Something that contributed to my well-being. Something I had quietly given up — not because it wasn’t valuable, but because I had stopped valuing it enough to make room for it.
That realization hit me harder than the hot water.
I’m beginning to think a healthy life isn’t built by continually sacrificing the things that make us feel alive. It’s built by paying attention to them. Protecting them. Making room for them. Not because we’ve earned them. Because they matter.
The portable bathtub sitting in my bathroom isn’t really a bathtub. It’s a reminder that life doesn’t become richer by continually giving pieces of yourself away. It becomes richer when you reclaim them.
So this morning, I have a question for you.
What is it in your life that you gave up that was valuable to your well-being? Maybe it was painting. Maybe it was gardening. Maybe it was reading novels on a rainy afternoon. Maybe it was taking long walks. Maybe it was simply having an hour to yourself without feeling guilty.
What did you give up?
And perhaps more importantly — what would it look like to bring it back? Not next year. Not when everything is perfect. Not when someone gives you permission.
Now.
If my thoughts made you think about something you quietly set down years ago, I want to invite you somewhere you can pick it back up.
Every Tuesday, a small group of us gather on Zoom for the Breakthrough Circle — women who are done waiting for permission to reclaim the things that bring them alive. No agenda, no performance, just honest conversation.
For a limited time, I’m offering 20% off an annual membership. Not because reclaiming yourself needs a discount. Because I want the women who need this room to be able to walk through the door.
Come as you are.
Join The Breakthrough Circle — 20% off annual membership
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