Life can move fast. It is easy to find yourself in a cycle where you move from task to task and yet don’t feel as if you accomplished anything. Self-care allows us a moment to remember and cherish ourselves. You have many responsibilities, possibly including: employee, parent, child, spouse, sibling, caretaker, boss, homeowner/renter… the list goes on!
To thrive, you need to take time for yourself. This means setting aside time that is just for you. You do not have to be “productive” or actively doing anything during this time. You are meant to simply exist and know you are enough during this time. It will help you recharge your spirit and prepare you for your daily or weekly tasks.
Why should we engage in self-care?
We all need to take a break from the endless task list to care for ourselves. Self-care is vital to maintaining physical, mental, and emotional well-being. There are days you push hard, and there should be days when you rest and recover.
If you have traveled by plane, you have heard the instruction to put your own face mask on before assisting others. Simply put, before you can take care of anyone else, you must take care of yourself first.
Self-care has been proven to improve positive outlook, resiliency, and mood. These are all necessary improvements no matter what area of your life you are looking to advance.
What does self care look and feel like?
Physical self-care is taking care of your body. When we consider recovery in the fitness area, this means taking a rest day. This allows your body to rest and rebuild, which is just as important as your activity level on a training day.
Emotional and spiritual self-care can look like meditating or journaling. Any act that puts you in touch with your feelings and allows their safe existence is emotional self-care. Acts that help you define your deeper sense of purpose or meaning are spiritual self-care.
Mental self-care involves giving yourself the freedom to explore and learn new things. You don’t have to master the task! Simply engaging for the joy of learning is success.
Social self-care is all about how you interact with others. We all have different needs when it comes to social interaction. In some cases, seeing less of others may be what we need. Taking time to determine if you are meeting your own needs for being with others is a great first step to social self-care.
Ideas for Self-Care
Physical
- Take an active or total rest day if you’ve been going hard on your workout routines. This could be a slow walk where you enjoy the outdoors and scenery, gentle stretches, or deep breathing.
- If you don’t have an active workout routine, engage in one. Whether this be going to a gym as a trial, using YouTube to find a free dance or yoga workout, or dusting off the old weights or bike to get the blood flowing. Go slowly and build this into your daily activities.
- Feed your body. Remember that what you eat is how your body gets fuel for all the wonderful things it does for you. Choose foods that are high in nutrients.
- Hydrate. We are made of about 60% water. Our brains and heart have slightly more water, and are composed of 73% water. Drinking enough water is essential to body function, healthy weight, and removing toxins.
Emotional and Spiritual
- Start your day with a mantra that empowers you. It can be spoken aloud or silently repeated. Choose a mantra that helps you focus on positives. You can affirm “I am enough,” “I am grateful,” and “I deserve joy.”
- Meditate. Sitting quietly and listening to your mind is a powerful practice to engage in mindfulness and feel your emotions. This does not have to take much time to be effective. Even sitting silently for a few minutes each day and acknowledging your thoughts as they surface can be helpful.
- Hug a friend, family member, or pet. We are responsive to touch and a quick cuddle can immediately boost mood by reminding us we are connected to others.
- Pray or study the religion or spiritual path that is meaningful to you.
Mental
- Practice mental acuity. This can be putting together a jigsaw puzzle, solving a riddle, or doing word searches or crosswords.
- Try a new task. Take that pottery, painting, or dance lesson. You may find you have a hidden talent, and even if not, you will benefit from the process of learning and the humility that comes from being a beginner. Read more about being a beginner on our blog post Think Differently.
- Read a book or an article. It can be any topic at all. Whether it is fiction and allows you to escape to another time or place, or non-fiction that teaches you about a topic that interests you, you will open new ways of thinking. Reading has been shown to have benefits for mental health and stress reduction.
- Practice self-compassion and acceptance.
Social
- Schedule an outing with friends or have a quick walk around the block with your neighbor
- Call or text someone. Much like touch, hearing the sound of another person’s voice and the stories of their day can bring a smile to your and to their face. Texting can do the same.
- Use social media to find events (in person or virtual) in your area that interest you. Join them to meet more people and widen your social group.
Your Self-Care Plan
There is no right or wrong way to go about self-care. It really is all about you! Taking care of yourself means that you are ensuring you are the healthiest, happiest you possible. It is a gift to yourself which is also a gift to others around you.