When you know the benefits of self care, you’ll find that it’s easy to fall in love with taking care of yourself. Self care is important but sometimes the only thing at the back of your head is keeping your sanity and hope that you make it through the day.
You might not be your top priority mostly, because you feel like that there’s inadequate means, it seems like there’s far too little time or things are too exhausting.
This can lead you to ignore self care and not only that, but also additional aspects of your life, that can affect your mental health and your entire well-being.
Let’s admit it, to begin with, one of the biggest barriers that prevent you from taking good care of yourself is time.
In trying to set up a game plan for your self care journey, you might feel overwhelmed. But it doesn’t have to be a long list of activities that take a lot of time every day because you can reserve some activities for a specific day.
You can set aside a day for some of your favorite activities that take a little more time. For instance, you could have a Self Care Sunday so that you have ample time to fit in those activities that require more time.
The good thing is that there are some ways you can use to put your self care on cruise control without even realising that’s happening.
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Related article: What is self care
How Often Should You Practice Self Care?
A huge part of self care that’s often ignored is consistency. In order for you to make some headway and move the needle forward in life, you have to be consistent and you’ll do that by creating some sort of routine.
You won’t get very far doing things in a haphazzard way, and without any sort of strategy in place. It’s best to have a plan of action set up, customised for you, that you can work towards, monitor and stick with.
When you have a good routine for taking care of yourself, you can see results far more quickly than you normally would just by practicing self care in a sporadic, willy nilly manner whenever you feel like it.
Why Self Care Is So Important?
It’s important to take care of yourself because it will help you to refuel your mind and body allowing deep healing, leaving you feeling recharged and energised.
This will help you to feel stronger, giving you greater capacity and be in a better position to handle everyday situations mentally, physically and emotionally.
The fact of the matter is that some problems can’t be resolved immediately and need time and your full attention to get through them. When you don’t take care of yourself, this just puts more stress on you and ultimately makes things worse.
Self care not only keeps you occupied and doing something good for yourself but it prevents you from focusing on the stresses of life. It can also have a beneficial impact on how you experience stress along with any mental, physical and emotional health symptoms.
Caring for yourself is important because it helps you to figure out what works for you in terms of how to get a grip of yourself, to keep calm, and retake and maintain control in your life.
At the same time, it also helps you to learn to take care of yourself in such a way that when challenging situations arise you won’t be caught completely off guard.
Because in this you’d have taken necessary steps towards monitoring what affects your mental health as well as your physical and emotional well-being. This can stop bad situations from getting worse.
Why Self Care Isn’t Selfish
There’s nothing wrong with helping others. But over time, if you start to put the needs of others over your own then something is wrong with that.
When you ignore your basic needs, in the long run, it can cause serious problems with your mental health as well as your physical health.
Don’t think about this as being self-centered because you need to make yourself your first concern. Take care of you for a change.
The fact of the matter is that you can’t really help your family or friends or anyone else for that matter if you’re not in healthy condition yourself.
Don’t let yourself be stomped on to provide happiness for someone else. You also deserve to be healthy and happy. Take charge of your physical and mental well being
Fall In Love With Taking Care Of Yourself Mind Body And Spirit
Here’s the thing, we all need to recharge. Self care is essential not only for stress relief but also for your physical and mental wellness. It can help in so many ways, from improving your mood after you’ve had a hard day to boosting your self-confidence.
It takes time to learn how to put yourself first and take care of your mind and body and spirit. But you can start with activities that don’t take a lot of time, at least setting aside 10 minutes each day to accommodate them.
After you get the hang of how to use that time to care for yourself then you can take it to the next level, and perhaps try, let’s say twenty or thirty minutes of activities just focusing on you.
Although the list of options is endless, here are some different ways to get you started with practicing proper self care to nourish your mind body and spirit.
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1. Get More Sleep
The first part of your self care that should be constant is your sleep time. Sleep is such a critical part of your well-being and happiness. It’s not just about the quantity of sleep that you get but what’s more, it’s the time you’re going to bed.
As much as possible, have a fixed time at which hit the sack. You might not fall asleep right away but at least you’re already in bed and makes it easier for sleeping.
When you get enough rest it gives you ample time to wake up, you’ll feel more refreshed and allow you to get things done in an efficient manner. Better sleep can improve every area of your life.
2. Comedy Movie Night
Laughter is the best medicine and is a good stress buster. Invite other family members or your friends over for comedy movie night.
Have the whole eating set up with popcorn, hotdogs, and drinks. Watch a comedy marathon or you can find plenty available online.
3. Dinner Party
If you’re a Foodie, cook a gourmet feast and have a dinner party. Invite your family members and friends over.
Gather your ingredients, prepare your dishes and get to cooking. If you’re not up to the task of cooking then enlist the service of caterers. Set up your space for dining and make it a black-tie event.
4. Be Grateful
Life can get tough sometimes these onslaughts and cause you to feel unhappy. But a good way to counteract that, is to be grateful for the good things you’ve got in your life.
Take a step back, take in all the good fortune that you enjoy, and express your gratitude. This will help to relieve stress, appreciate your loved ones and help you to feel calm and relaxed.
Related article: Gratitude is a must
5. Mini Retreat
Sometimes you just need to take a little time-out. Here’s where you can step away from the pressures of life. This is your time where you can just relax and attend to some basic needs that you have to meet.
It doesn’t have to be anything lavish or expensive, though. Having a small retreat in the comfort of your own home could be just what you need. It just needs a few days at most, of time off from everything but you. Organize ahead of time and bask in all the benefits.
6. Dance Party
You don’t have to go to a club or to a particular event to have a dance party because you can have one at home.
Get your favorite drinks, finger food and grab your playlist, let the music play and dance like no one is watching. This is a great stress reliever. A good option is to invite your family and friends and have a blast together.
7. Write In Your Journal
It does help when you write down anything that’s on your mind. As soon as all those worries are being written down, it makes it easier for you to prioritize them and create a strategy to tackle them.
You can also easily examine them and pinpoint what’s important and what isn’t. When you can see what’s critical, you can focus your energy there and clear some of that mental space.
8. Prayer
Prayer is a lifeline. You get so busy, hustling and bustling daily that you hardly have time to slow down. Prayer gives you some breathing space from all that rushing and allow you to be still and find a different outlook on the stresses of life.
It helps you to feel connected to God, gives you increased meaning to life, and helps you to let go of things that you can’t control. It gets you closer to being calm and relaxed and find peace.
9. Try Meditation
Don’t wallow in your troubles, distract your mind. You don’t have to be sitting on a cushion in a specific space to benefit from meditation techniques. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, a few simple breathing techniques can be helpful.
Forget all the other stuff and take a few minutes, focus only on your breathing. If your mind wanders, leave that and come back to focus on your breath. This will help you to calm down and keep focused.
10. Workout
Exercise is an essential part of self care. Working out regularly is good for your body and your mind, and can relieve your stress levels. If you’re stressed mentally, it can improve your mood and help you to feel happier by releasing endorphins as well as improve your self-confidence. This is excellent for your mental health.
There are tons of workouts that you can choose from that helps you to take better care of your physical and mental well-being. Whether you go for a walk or a hike, have a yoga session, cardio or weightlifting, or have a blast while dancing try exercises you enjoy doing and that will benefit your needs.
12.Creative Activities
Another great way to take care of yourself is to include creative activities or a hobby that you enjoy. If you’ve always enjoyed painting or doing crafts, why not give it a try now?
Not because you’re all saddled with responsibilities, that’s not to say you have to give up the things you love to do. Take a drawing pad with you to work and while you’re on your lunch break, draw something.
Another option is to get an adult coloring book and some colored pencils and take them with you. These are things you can easily take with you no matter where you are.
On the long train commute to work or bus ride, in the park or when you get a break at work. You can also try different types of crafts you love doing. You’ll have some time well spent doing what you love and at the same time relieving stress.
Conclusion On Fall In Love With Taking Care Of Yourself
When you have a lot of stress to deal with, it can be really hard to focus on anything. So, by taking care of yourself, you’ll discover how to live a healthier, happier life, more fulfilling life.
Be aware of the fact that self care is important to your existence. It’s a necessity for your health and wellbeing and you shouldn’t feel guilty for taking care of yourself.
Everyday make sure you have at least a few minutes just for you. It might seem so simple and but these mini breaks where you are alone and just doing something for yourself can make all the difference. Set a dedicated time for relaxation, meditation and prayer.
Fall in love with taking care of yourself mind body and spirit. How do you take care of yourself? Comment below!
