Hi All,
Today I am going to be writing about “self-care”. Almost everyone knows what self-care means. In the next few days I will be going through multiple ways to integrate self-care into your busy lives. Self-care can be defined as “the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress”. Most of the techniques used in this is mental, physical, financial and physical self-care. Most of you are probably thinking “I don’t have time for that… My life is too busy… I have kids, I cant worry about myself…” Stop right there!
Everyone can practice self-care, regardless of time and money! So let’s get started. The first thing you need to do in order to be able to practice these things is… Believe you can. Motivate yourself to be able to put a few minutes everyday into you. I will go briefly into some things you can do to practice self-care, and for the next few days I will be posting details and tools to help you with these things.
There are multiple ways to practice this:
-Sleep: having a nightly routine is key for better sleep. Remind yourself to stop eating and drinking caffeine or sugar before bedtime. Caffeine will keep your brain and body awake, which is something you don’t want to do! Also try to keep your bedroom for it’s intended purpose… SLEEP! Watching tv in bed or using your laptop and cellphone in bed also keeps your mind awake much longer than you intend to be.
-Your eating habits: I will go much more in depth in another post, as this is one of the most important aspects of mental and physical health. In theory, we would all love to be able to watch what we eat, or eat healthier. But most of this will cost more money in the grocery store. Fortunately, there are many low-cost options for everyone. Cooking at home is very important to being able to watch what you eat.
-EXERCISE!!!: okay, so we’ve all been there. Trying to start exercising, running out of motivation, and then getting to busy with life and stopping. This cycle of stopping and starting can be broken. Not everyone can make it to the gym. But fortunately, in most everyday life, you are already moving. So when you take that into consideration, taking a 4-10 minute brisk walk, or a jog can already make you feel physically and mentally healthier.
-Focus on YOU: You will need to learn to say no sometimes. Saying no is something you need to do in able to be focused on you.
– Get outside: getting some vitamin D is important, especially if you work in a job field that is mainly inside. Go for a walk to a park, sit outside and read. Being active is going to boost your motivation and mental health.
-Organization: Get a calendar or planner to keep track of you to-do’s and goals. Keep a goal journal for your self-help journey. Keep yourself accountable for the goals you make. MAKE sure to update these journals daily, or as much as you can.
-Read a book on self-care: one of the easiest things to do to get started with this is to find a light book to read. This will open your eyes to others who have been changed by using self-care.
SO, let’s get started with this journey. One thing you can start with is regulating your sleep patterns. This is important for you to become more active and refreshed to become motivated. If y’all have any questions or need someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I have my email and phone number posted up on this blog. That’s it for today, I look forward to taking this journey with you.