picture via pinterest
Self-care should be an essential part of our life. We need to take care of ourselves to be the best version of ourselves when we’re working, around other people, and with ourselves. If we keep depleting ourselves we end up drained and out of energy which doesn’t help us move forward in many areas of life.
Taking care of yourself is productive and if you feel guilty about it, it won’t really be recharging for you. So if that’s you work on your mindset toward rest, relaxation, and self-care.
Think of it like this: a plant can only grow and blossom when it gets watered regularly, gets light, and sits in good soil.
If you have trouble making time for self-care then actively schedule it as a consistent practice.
There are many forms of self-care. I have listed a few suggestions for your mind, body, and soul.
picture via pinterest
THE MIND
- Meditation
Meditation has proven benefits for your overall health, sleep, and concentration and is a way to reduce stress. It’s a tool to understand, control and redirect your thoughts and emotions, leading to better self-awareness.
For many of you, myself included, meditation without guidance seems to be difficult I recommend searching for meditations on youtube or confiding in a website or app for guided meditations. There are guided meditations for all kinds of purposes: manifestation, anxiety, sleep, clarity, etc.
- Brain Dump
When doing a brain dump the goal is to write everything that’s on your mind onto a piece of paper or in your journal. Every thought you have will have a place on the blank paper before you. After writing down every thought, you organize these thoughts on a new blank page.
By doing this you have all the voices inside your head nudging you to do this, reminding you to not forget this thing organized on a piece of paper allowing you to structure your thoughts providing you with more clarity and peace of mind.
Journal about your day, thoughts, week ahead, or whatever you like to write about. You can also do shadow work where you journal about questions that concern parts of yourself that you might not have thought about or that are uncomfortable writing about. I have a whole article about this topic: read here.
Journaling is a way to express your emotions and thoughts that you might have repressed throughout your day or week as well as a tool to reflect, structure, and plan the week ahead.
Reading is an option to relax especially if you’re feeling burnt out. Fiction lets you escape reality for a second to visit a whole new world. Non-fiction teaches you how the world works and proposes different ideas about life that interest you. Choose whatever you most feel like reading.
To be honest, I usually grab a cute rom-com when I want to relax but some people prefer fantasy or non-fiction which is totally up to you.
- Clean
This is literally one of my favorite ways to ease stress and relax my mind. I’m fully aware that it’s not for everyone. While cleaning I focus on the task at hand that doesn’t require a lot of focus letting my mind wander.
Whenever I clean or organize I enter a meditative-like state of mind and after my space is clean. It flips a switch in my brain because in my brain a messy environment equals a cluttered mind.
picture via pinterest
THE BODY
Going on a walk is beneficial for the mind, the body, and the soul.
You’ll get some movement which obviously has many benefits for your health, you’ll clear your head and you’ll connect and can admire nature, the green in the summer, the leaves in fall, the snow in winter and the blooming in spring.
Take a friend with you if you like but it’s totally okay to go on a walk by yourself. I know a lot of you might be embarrassed to go alone but nothing there’s embarrassing about it, no one actually cares just make sure to stay safe.
- Skin-care & Hair care
For me, skin care is a daily habit of self-care. Every morning I do my ten minutes of skin care. However, there are days when I feel like doing a longer routine after a stressful week by putting a face mask on, doing a face massage myself, or taking care of my whole body not just my face.
Taking care of your skin has a soothing effect and is a great way to show your body love physically.
Similar to skin care, hair care makes you feel put together. It can be as simple as putting in a hydrating hair mask.
- Catch up on sleep
Most of us tend to miss out on sleep when we have a busy and stressful week leaving us drained on the weekends.
The importance of sleep is often underestimated, it recharges our body and subconsciously processes our experiences and emotions.
Catching up on sleep is an act of self-care and an incredibly essential one because it’s where you will get your energy for the upcoming week.
- Drinking water
The simple habit of drinking enough water poses a challenge for many of us. For myself as well. Without water, we cannot function properly and it hinders our productivity when we’re dehydrated. Set reminders to drink water throughout your day to hold yourself accountable to keep yourself hydrated.
- Cooking or baking your comfort/favorite food
Whenever I taste my favorite food it instantly lifts my mood. Cooking or baking my favorite meal or pastry while listening to music or a podcast allows me to recharge.
Alternatively ordering your favorite food when you don’t feel like cooking or are just busy has a similar effect.
picture via pinterest
THE SOUL
- Lighting a candle
As a total candle lover, I am obsessed with candles and they are a must when I have a self-care day or evening. It adds a calming atmosphere and fills the room with a lovely scent.
- Watching your favorite movie or tv-show
Personally, I love to watch new girl, gilmore girls, rom-coms, or marvel movies as a form of self-care but what you like to watch is individual to you.
Putting on an episode of your favorite show while taking a warm bath is a great way to de-stress. Another thing I like to do while watching a movie is to paint my nails because I feel put together when my nails are done.
- Setting boundaries
This is such an important part of self-care. It’s not something you do at a self-care evening, it’s an act of self-care in our everyday lives.
By setting boundaries we stop people from walking all over us especially if you tend to be a people pleaser like me. We form unhealthy relationships by not communicating boundaries which will consistently drain us.
- Saying no
Saying no to events and plans when you’re social battery is drained or you don’t want to attend will do wonders for your mental health. By doing this you choose the time you spent selectively. This counts for the thousandth favor for a friend as well. Time is your currency and if you’re being used or don’t spend it wisely it can end up depleting you.
- Holding yourself back from falling into old patterns
Quitting old bad habits can improve your life’s quality significantly. Bad habits could be endless scrolling on your phone, excessively spending money on things you don’t need, constantly eating fast food, negative self-talk, not taking care of your mental health, overworking yourself, etc.
By replacing these habits slowly with better ones you’re taking care of yourself and are mindful of your time and energy. New habits might up energizing you.
It is difficult to quit bad habits especially if they’re easy and feel comfortable. Stopping yourself and acknowledging these patterns can also be self-care.
- Spend quality time with loved ones
Selectively spending time with people that lift you up and you feel comfortable around can be quite recharging. Your loved ones don’t have to be people. A loved one could be your dog, your cat, or any other pet. And I do hope that a loved one also includes yourself.
Spending time by yourself doesn’t have to feel lonely, it can be a chance to get to know yourself, start a new hobby, or simply enjoy your own company because you are the person that is by your side your whole life. Invest in that relationship because it is the most important you will ever have and lays the foundation for the ones to come.
- Dance
Put on your favorite music to dance to, turn the volume up and just dance. Don’t mind what you might look like just follow the rhythm and your body’s instincts. Dancing releases happy hormones and instantly makes you feel better, it’s a shame we don’t do it more often.
- Paint
I am horrible at painting or drawing but I love to do it. Why? Because it allows me to completely switch off my thoughts and transports me into a meditative state of mind. It calms me and instantly relaxes me.
You don’t have to be good at things to do them and you don’t have to have any intention to become better, if it contributes to your well-being then that is absolutely enough reason to start doing it. This goes for not only painting but for anything, for example singing or writing.
- Removing toxic people
I saved one of the most crucial points for last. Let’s go back to our plant analogy.
Recently I watch a video of a woman asking “if a flower doesn’t bloom do we blame the flower or its environment?”. Instantly I said the environment of course.
But she wasn’t talking about flowers, it was just an analogy that showed us that sometimes our environment which represents the people that we spend time with are not doing us any good. These people can hold us back.
Most likely you already know who these people or this person is but we make up excuses why we should keep them in our lives and trust me I’ve been there. However, it is important to remove these people from our lives because they drain us and if they can’t be removed we can try to not give them our energy and as little time as we can.
And who knows this is exactly what you needed to bloom.
There are many more self-care practices and activities but you don’t need to do every self-care activity to take care of yourself.
As in many other areas of life, self-care is personal and individual so do the ones that feel best to you!
Take care of yourself as you would the person you love most in the world. You’ve got this!
