MARCH 2024
Feeling Depleted? Take the Self-Care Challenge!
By Lori Scott, E-RYT 500
Make yourself a cup of tea and grab a pen and paper.
Now, take a moment to write down all of the things you love in your life.
Then, put your list aside for now. We’ll come back to that in a minute.
Self-Care Redefined
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), self-care is the ability to care for oneself through awareness and self-reliance in order to achieve optimal health and well-being.
It seems like a simple concept but one that often gets ignored or misunderstood. For many of us, there is a belief that doing something nice for ourselves is indulgent or even selfish. We all know that putting the oxygen on ourselves first allows us to help others. Self-care is the same principle. Practicing self-care allows us to show up and be present for others with more patience, understanding and bandwidth, ultimately improving our relationships and ability to handle stress. If you are depleted, you are not in a position to help yourself or anyone else.
Practicing self-care has scientifically been shown to improve and protect our health. Without self-care, prolonged chronic stress, physical, mental, and emotional fatigue are imminent.
Self-care is not a luxury. Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is NECESSARY.
The best part? It doesn’t have to cost anything and can be as simple as taking a mindful deep breath. True self-care is creating a life you don’t need a vacation from. Self-care is not a place you go, it’s an outlook on life that focuses on appreciating the simple pleasures and taking the time to cultivate more of them in your everyday life.
There are eight main areas of self-care: physical, psychological, emotional, social, professional, environmental, spiritual, and financial. Essentially, self-care includes healthy eating and movement, gratitude, setting healthy boundaries, limiting time with negative people and situations, time in nature, decluttering your space, self-reflection and setting goals.
Now, go back to your list and look at all of the things you love in your life.
How long did it take for you to list yourself? Are you even on this list? It’s okay if you’re not. You are not alone. Most of us have been putting others first our whole lives. The problem is that you've taught them AND yourself, that you come second. Maybe it’s time to consider changing that narrative. This doesn’t mean that we should stop helping others, it just means that you also value yourself and your own health. Make sure your name is on your list!
What Does Self-Care Look Like To YOU?
Imagine you had only 3 minutes for self-care. Make a list of things that would instantly reset your mood and bring you a feeling of happiness. For example, stepping outside for a few deep breaths, listening to your favorite song or dancing. Consider things like wearing your favorite soft clothing, watching a sunrise or sunset, reading a book, coloring, savoring a cup of tea in your favorite mug, or calling someone you love. Take some time to create a list of things that bring YOU joy.
This is your Self-Care Survival List and it’s your reminder that it’s okay to do something nice for yourself throughout the day. EVERY day. We don’t have to wait until a planned vacation to take better care of ourselves. If we can implement small but impactful intentions into our daily lives, we can show up each day with a full cup for ourselves and everyone else around us.
Tips For A Simple Self-Care Routine:
Start by giving yourself just 3 minutes each day for something you love. We all have 3 minutes. Self-care doesn’t TAKE time, it actually MAKES time for the things that matter most to you … and you are worth getting to know!
The Quincy Sun, March 2024
Now, take a moment to write down all of the things you love in your life.
Then, put your list aside for now. We’ll come back to that in a minute.
Self-Care Redefined
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), self-care is the ability to care for oneself through awareness and self-reliance in order to achieve optimal health and well-being.
It seems like a simple concept but one that often gets ignored or misunderstood. For many of us, there is a belief that doing something nice for ourselves is indulgent or even selfish. We all know that putting the oxygen on ourselves first allows us to help others. Self-care is the same principle. Practicing self-care allows us to show up and be present for others with more patience, understanding and bandwidth, ultimately improving our relationships and ability to handle stress. If you are depleted, you are not in a position to help yourself or anyone else.
Practicing self-care has scientifically been shown to improve and protect our health. Without self-care, prolonged chronic stress, physical, mental, and emotional fatigue are imminent.
Self-care is not a luxury. Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is NECESSARY.
The best part? It doesn’t have to cost anything and can be as simple as taking a mindful deep breath. True self-care is creating a life you don’t need a vacation from. Self-care is not a place you go, it’s an outlook on life that focuses on appreciating the simple pleasures and taking the time to cultivate more of them in your everyday life.
There are eight main areas of self-care: physical, psychological, emotional, social, professional, environmental, spiritual, and financial. Essentially, self-care includes healthy eating and movement, gratitude, setting healthy boundaries, limiting time with negative people and situations, time in nature, decluttering your space, self-reflection and setting goals.
Now, go back to your list and look at all of the things you love in your life.
How long did it take for you to list yourself? Are you even on this list? It’s okay if you’re not. You are not alone. Most of us have been putting others first our whole lives. The problem is that you've taught them AND yourself, that you come second. Maybe it’s time to consider changing that narrative. This doesn’t mean that we should stop helping others, it just means that you also value yourself and your own health. Make sure your name is on your list!
What Does Self-Care Look Like To YOU?
Imagine you had only 3 minutes for self-care. Make a list of things that would instantly reset your mood and bring you a feeling of happiness. For example, stepping outside for a few deep breaths, listening to your favorite song or dancing. Consider things like wearing your favorite soft clothing, watching a sunrise or sunset, reading a book, coloring, savoring a cup of tea in your favorite mug, or calling someone you love. Take some time to create a list of things that bring YOU joy.
This is your Self-Care Survival List and it’s your reminder that it’s okay to do something nice for yourself throughout the day. EVERY day. We don’t have to wait until a planned vacation to take better care of ourselves. If we can implement small but impactful intentions into our daily lives, we can show up each day with a full cup for ourselves and everyone else around us.
Tips For A Simple Self-Care Routine:
- Before you get out of bed in the morning, pause. Roll your shoulders, reach your arms overhead and stretch. Feel a sense of gratitude in this moment for waking up on this new day and for the ability to move your body.
- Start your day with a question. What do I need most today? This simple question will guide decisions and actions that are best for YOU. Remember, there is nothing selfish about showing up as your best self. Be sure to wait for the answer. Then, be that!
- Build your day around your self-care, not your self-care around your day. Schedule self-care into your planner BEFORE other tasks. It may seem silly to write down “breathe” at 3pm, but maybe this shift in priorities will allow you to have more clarity and focus throughout the day.
- Create space for silence. Give yourself just a few minutes each day to unplug. No phone, no emails, no stress, no pressure, no responsibilities. Nothing. Just sit. Close your eyes. Pretend you’re on a tropical island with no cell service! Just try it for 2 minutes and see how silence makes you feel. Maybe it’s all you need to charge your battery before responding to an uncomfortable email or having a difficult conversation.
- Now that you have your Self-Care Survival List, do one of these things today. It could be for 1 minute, 5 or 10 depending on how much time you have. Most importantly, try not to confuse it with indulgence and do it unapologetically.
- Go further with this and begin exploring how self-care fits into each area of your life (physically, psychologically, emotionally, socially, professionally, environmentally, spiritually, financially) by incorporating some things you love from your Self-Care Survival List into each one.
Start by giving yourself just 3 minutes each day for something you love. We all have 3 minutes. Self-care doesn’t TAKE time, it actually MAKES time for the things that matter most to you … and you are worth getting to know!
The Quincy Sun, March 2024
