Hello lovely people! I went for a walk the other day and noticed that other people walking were on their phones, cars were rushing by, and no one waves to each other. Those are just a few of the things I noticed. I can’t help but think that it is because we are all extremely busy people in this extremely busy world. Although there is nothing wrong with being busy, it is still necessary to slow down a little bit and take some time to yourself.
What better way to do this than with self-care!
What exactly is self-care?
Self-care is taking the necessary steps to ultimately take care of yourself. This can be identified at a range of levels, but no matter the level, self care is IMPORTANT!
Self-care is as simple as brushing your teeth every morning and showering every night. It is caring for yourself, and in my opinion it is necessary for a clear and happy mind.
These kind of activities that are often overlooked.
Therefore, sometimes we need to have a plan in place to ensure we actually DO take care of ourselves; in all aspects of our lives.
Why is Self Care important?
When people think about self care they often think of it as being selfish (I know that’s what I initially thought). I have since come to learn self care is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your overall health.
Reduces Stress
Life is busy.
Life is chaotic.
Life is just straight up stressful sometimes.
By engaging in self care actions you have the opportunity to minimize some of the stress in your life.
- Prevents burnout
Do find yourself getting a cold often and feeling run down?
By changing a few simple things in your daily routine you can significantly reduce this. Take time to relax, it’s not selfish, it’s necessary.
If you are feeling run down that is an indication that you are not taking care of yourself. You might not be getting enough sleep and you don’t even realize it. You also might be taking on too many tasks and it is playing a real toll on your body.
You can prevent burnout by implementing self-care into your daily routine.
By being mindful of how you treat your body you will realize you owe it to yourself to treat it right.
- Helps you get in tune with your body
Self-care is a great way to find out what your body needs. This can include filling your body with nutritious foods and listening to what makes you feel best and which foods you mind have an intolerance to. When you slow down and take the time to listen to your body you learn when you need more sleep, you recognize when you are pushing yourself too hard, and you become mindful of what thoughts help you thrive as a person.
Self-care is more than brushing your teeth every morning, it is also listening to your body and recognizing what it is that you need.
Practicing mindfulness everyday will help you get in tune with what your body needs to not only survive but also to thrive.
Incorporating some form of meditation into your day is a great place to start.
- Improves mindset
Self-care give you the opportunity to just THINK. To think about anything you want to think about. Fill you mind with happy thoughts each day and you will most likely find your overall mindset more positive.
Overall, it is a great way to improve your mindset.
Instead of thinking about all the things you don’t have, think about all the things you could have if you put your mind to it.
There is no limit.
When your body is happy, your mind is more likely to also be in a happy state.
- You deserve it
You deserve to be happy.
You deserve to find the best version of yourself.
You deserve to relax.
You deserve to stop stressing about every little thing.
You deserve happiness.
You deserve to live in a body that is treated right, plain and simple.
How to Create a Self-care plan
1. Determine your why
Determine why self-care is important in some aspect of your life. This will make it much easier to stick to your plan.
As an example, you might determine you need self-care because you find yourself worrying all the time. By implementing self-care into your day you can significantly reduce or even completely eliminate that worry, making your day more enjoyable!
Some reasons as to why you need to step your self-care game up might not be so obvious. To get you thinking about it a little bit more I have compiled a list of reasons that may indicate you need to start implementing more self-care.
- You fall back to unhealthy habits
- You find it difficult to concentrate
- You lack motivation
- You feel burnt out
- You can’t relax
- You never put yourself first and your health is showing it
2. Identify times
When creating your self care plan it is important to chose appropriate times to implement self care. Personally, I love practicing it first thing in the morning because it sets the mood for my day! However, if you are someone that finds getting through the day to be draining maybe your lunch break is the best time to practice loving yourself.
Your “why” might determine the times that work best. Maybe you find it difficult to sleep because your “why” is that you feel overwhelmed with the amount you have to do tomorrow. If this is the issue then perhaps self-care right before bed is the best time for you!
You know you best, choose times that benefit you most! But don’t forget you should practice loving yourself all hours of the day!
3. Identify activities
This is by far the most fun part about creating a self-care routine! Choosing the activities you want to incorporate into your day are crucial to success. Depending on your “why,” times of day, and overall personality you might decide to engage in very different activities than someone else who also practices self-care. Someone might use going to the gym as part of their routine, while someone else might use bubble baths to calm them down.
You’re unique and that’s beautiful, you do you girl!
Some activities that you might want to add to your self-care list include..
Listening to your favourite music
Practicing gratitude in the morning
Meditating on your lunch break
Buying your favourite hot or cold drink as a treat
Going for a low intensity walk and enjoy nature
Taking a break from social media
3. Commit
Commitment is key to really succeeding at anything you do!
When it comes to self-care you can’t expect to improve your mindset with doing something once, so get in the routine of performing certain actions every single day.
I wake up every morning with the intentions of being better than the day before. Self-care has really helped me with this. Sometimes improvement can be as simple as smiling more to brighten someone else’s day!
Commit, because you deserve to feel amazing!
Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is a great way to improve yourself as a person. The fact that you recognize this already makes you one step ahead of a lot of people. The little actions you take every single day makes you who you are.
Love yourself, because you’re the only you there is!
What kinds of things do you do for self-care? I’d love to hear about them!
Oh, and one last thing, is your self-care routine involves bingeing on chocolate every once in awhile, just know you have my support (chocolate is life).
