List of Almost Dumb Ways to Fill Your Cup Daily
There’s this narrative online that self-care has to be elaborate, aesthetic, expensive, or involve escaping your entire life for a weekend somewhere quiet.
And while that sounds incredible… that’s just not realistic for me right now (man how some days I wish it was…)
My life looks a lot more like reheated coffee, preschool pickup lines, laundry piles, whispered prayers, exhaustion, and trying to keep tiny humans emotionally and physically alive while also keeping myself afloat.
And as a single Christian mom, I’ve realized something really important.
There isn’t always someone there to notice what I need. There isn’t always another adult stepping in saying:
“Hey, you look overwhelmed.
“Hey, go take a break.”
“Hey, let me take care of you for a little while.”
So I’ve had to learn how to meet some of my own needs in small, practical, sustainable ways. Not because I never need people. Not because community doesn’t matter. But because part of maturity—and honestly, healing too—is learning how to care for yourself without waiting for someone else to rescue you first.
If you are looking for the glamorous self-care ideas, keep looking sis, that doesn’t fit in my life right now. These are so simple they are almost dumb ways that I stay grounded, emotionally regulated, grateful, connected to God, and present in my actual life.
Little ways I remind myself:
I matter too.
My needs matter too.
And it’s okay for me to tend to them.
Not perfectly.
Not selfishly.
But intentionally.
1. A Cup of Hot Coffee (anytime of day honestly)
There is something deeply healing about waking up before my kids. I have to remind myself it’s worth getting up before my early risers, because when I do, even if it’s just 30 minutes, that stillness in the house. The quiet. Where it’s just me and Jesus, those mornings ground me,
It’s a tiny way I meet my own need for quiet, slowness, and connection before spending the rest of the day pouring into everyone else.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10
2. Loud Music and Dancing Around the Kitchen
Kids are loud, so sometimes I simply become louder. The music goes way up, we dance around the house. Just being silly and embracing the loud. Honestly, that shift changes me more than it changes them.
There are moments I can physically feel myself becoming overstimulated and emotionally stretched thin, and instead of sinking deeper into stress, I’ve learned to redirect the energy.
And sometimes joy looks like dancing around like a fool to music while making tacos.
3. Moving My Body for 20 Minutes Every Day
I love feeling my body move and being active, it’s not about a goal during these walks/runs it’s about loving myself enough to move the body gave me.
I genuinely feel better when I move.
Movement helps regulate me emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
It reminds me I’m still a person worth caring for too—not just someone constantly caring for everyone else.
And honestly, some days those 20 minutes are the difference between me surviving the day… and actually enjoying it.
4. Letting Time with God Look Different Every Day
Some mornings are deep Bible study mornings. Other mornings? It’s one verse while someone cries because they got the wrong color bowl (or cup, or straw, or anything really, why are toddlers like this?)
And I’ve stopped believing God is disappointed by that. This season may not look polished… but it’s still sacred.
God is still here.
In the noise.
In the interruptions.
In the ordinary moments.
And learning to release perfection in my spiritual life has brought me closer to Him, not farther away
5. Tiny Grocery Store Splurges
Sometimes healing looks like buying the fancy coffee creamer. The GOOD bread. That chocolate treat. Fresh flowers. Overpriced ice cream I do not need, but really do need (once the boys are asleep naturally)
For a long time, I felt guilty spending money on myself in any capacity.
Now I see these tiny gestures differently.
Sometimes meeting your own needs looks like allowing yourself small moments of enjoyment without needing to justify them.
And sometimes, chocolate and hot cheetos, does in fact solve all my problems.
6. Trying One New Recipe Every Few Weeks
This one sounds small, but it reminds me that I’m still a person outside of survival mode. It reminds me I’m still creative.
Still learning. Still experiencing life.
Plus, sometimes the recipe is incredible. And sometimes it’s a train wreck we will never eat again, but both are welcomed because life is full of things and foods to experience and every so often, on a small scale, we do that at home.
7. Going Outside Immediately Improves My Mood
Fresh air resets me every single time.
Sunlight. A walk with my kids (Also without them is lovely).
Nature reminds me God is still creating beautiful things. And somehow… that helps me breathe deeper too.
“The heavens declare the glory of God…” — Psalm 19:1
8. Laughing On Purpose
Not everything has to be serious all the time. Sometimes we need silliness, this is where I lean in heavy into the toddler antics. They are funny people, at least my boys are.
Sometimes healing sounds like belly laughing with your kids in pajamas at 7 PM while the kitchen is still destroyed.
Other times it’s floor dinner aka eating on the floor out of one bowl because that’s all the energy I had for that night.
And honestly? I think when we are all smiling and laughing it reminds me that joy is simple and easy if we let it be just that.
9. Letting “Good Enough” Be Good Enough
This one might be the hardest lesson of all.
Some days (more than I’d care to admit) survival mode is enough.
The dishes might stay in the sink overnight.
The laundry might remain unfolded.
Dinner might be frozen pizza.
And that does not make me a failure
Sometimes the need I’m meeting is simply rest. Or grace (it’s usually a combo of both).
Or releasing impossible expectations I was never meant to carry alone.
10. Remembering That God Fills Me First
At the end of the day, none of these things fully sustain me on their own. They help. They ground me.
They create space for me to breathe again.
But the deepest filling of my cup always comes from God.
Not because I have everything together. Not because I’m doing motherhood perfectly. But because His grace meets me here too.
Right in the middle of the loud, messy, beautiful life we’re building.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:19
I think for a long time, I believed taking care of myself had to come after everyone else was fully taken care of (I think all moms can relate to this..).
But the truth is, when you spend your entire life neglecting your own needs, eventually there’s nothing left to give anyone.
And I don’t think God asks us to completely abandon ourselves in the process of loving others.
I think He asks us to steward ourselves well too.
To slow down. To notice when we’re exhausted. To pay attention when we’re overwhelmed.
To care for ourselves with the same gentleness we so easily extend to other people, including our kids.
These small dumb ways to promote self-care don’t solve everything, in fact they really don’t much of anything at all.
But they help me stay anchored.
They help me remain soft instead of hardened by stress. Present instead of constantly overwhelmed. Grateful instead of resentful.
And maybe most importantly?
They remind me that while I may not always have someone caring for me in the ways I wish I did…
I am still worthy of care.
So this is your reminder too:
You are allowed to meet your own needs.
Not in a hyper-independent “I don’t need anyone” kind of way.
But in a healthy, grounded, life-giving way.
Little by little. Day by day.
It’s a hard thing to start putting into practice, but I am proof that it helps on this journey to remember that joy is found in the smallest of places and experiencing it without guilt is just another one of the ways that God is helping me feel free and content in this season.
