Putting Yourself First – Self-Care
Self-care is more than the latest buzzword or trending hashtag. It’s a vital part of making yourself a priority in your own life. Self-care goes far beyond the basics of maintaining your health by eating healthy, getting exercise, and setting up appointments for health checks, although those are all included. Self-care is a way of treating yourself like you are someone important – because you are!
Even though we know we should, and we desperately want to, most of us ignore our self-care. There are a million and one reasons for this—and that’s the problem. There always seems to be something more important to do. How can we go for a walk on the beach when our to-do list is longer than our arms? When we do take the time in spite of our busy lives, we often feel guilty.
However, enjoying self-care is equally important as eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep. Taking a break from our hectic lives rejuvenates our spirit, so we have something to give others. Consistent self-care prevents burnout and evokes our relaxation response that ensures our ongoing good physical and mental health. Self-care isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity if we want to keep powered up, so we can fulfill our purpose and live our best life.
If you think self-care is time-consuming and expensive, think again. Pampering yourself by spending quality time with yourself doing things you enjoy doesn’t have to take a lot of time out of your schedule or cost a lot. In fact, it’s much more efficient and cost-effective to prioritize consistent self-care than not. Any burnout or health breakdown is bound to cost more in both time and money.
I’ve put together a large list of ways you can treat yourself like you would treat someone else. In other words, ways you can treat yourself to some well-deserved self-care.
Unplug
Don’t freak out. Even unplugging for a couple of hours will revitalize you. Binge-watching television, watching YouTube videos for hours, or scrolling on your phone every morning may seem harmless, but research shows that too much screen time may be detrimental to your health. Turn off your phone and computer, and TV.
Then set about finding something to do that doesn’t require screen time. Take a walk, go to a museum, enjoy your hobby. Getting away, even for a short time, will give you a break from the seemingly constant need to be available 24/7.
Take a Stay-cation
There’s no need to spend thousands on an exotic vacation. In fact, sometimes a stay-cation is even better because there’s no rush to see, do, and try everything available before it’s time to head back to the real world. Try this instead: tell friends and family you are out of town for the weekend (or for a week if you love this self-care thing). Don’t answer the phone or the door (unless you order take-out). If you want, you can stay in your PJs the whole time. Give yourself a manicure. Read a book from your to-be-read pile all day long. Spend time in the Garden. If you feel like going out, try a new restaurant or attend an event you’ve always meant to but never have. The sky’s the limit. Whatever you feel like doing, do it.
Watch the Birds
Granted, you may need to go to the park for this, depending on where you live, but even in the city, a single birdfeeder on your balcony can entice a variety of birds right to you. Take your morning coffee outside and enjoy watching the birds for a few minutes. It’s one of the simple pleasures that relaxes and tends to put things into perspective.
Buy Flowers
There doesn’t need to be an occasion to buy yourself a bouquet. Many people do this for themselves regularly because it makes them smile whenever they see their beauty or smell their sweet fragrance. If your locale fits, spend time GROWING your flowers
Splurge A Little
Everyone deserves to splurge on their favorite treat occasionally. A scoop or two of fancy ice cream, homemade fudge, or handmade Belgian chocolates, it doesn’t matter. This tip is especially nice after a long day.
Eat Lunch Outside
On a nice day, there’s no better way to revive your spirit than to enjoy your lunch outside. Leave your cell phone in the office. Don’t participate in chit-chat. Sit and enjoy the sun as you savor each bite of your food. Guaranteed, there will be a spring in your step when you go back to work.
Gaze Out the Window
Unless your window looks out upon a brick wall, we can all enjoy a few minutes of gazing at the beauty that surrounds us. Practice mindfulness by engaging your senses, slowing down your pace, and focusing on small details in the nature surrounding you. Let your mind wander and smile. Appreciate your surroundings. When you return to your task, your mind will feel more relaxed, allowing you to focus better.
Take a Power Nap
Most of us are sleep-deprived. Even if you aren’t, sometimes a nap is in order just to get away from all the demands of our day. A power nap helps combat the natural afternoon energy dip, sharpening your focus and increasing overall work performance. A NASA study, for instance, found that pilots who took a 26-minute nap showed a 54% increase in alertness and a 34% increase in job proficiency. Lie down and rest for 20-30 minutes. If you are at work, you can do this in your car, breakroom, or empty conference room. Stretch out in the chair and close your eyes. Just rest.
Get Up and Stretch
We spend most of our day sitting. One quick, easy way to be kind to ourselves daily is to get up from our chair and stretch. Lengthen your spine, stretch your lower back. Heck, if the mood strikes you, do a downward dog. If you are concerned about getting strange looks from your co-workers (who cares?), head to an empty conference room or the bathroom. It doesn’t have to take an hour yoga class to wake up your body and refresh your mind.
Breathe
Did you know science has proven that our breath affects our emotions? Yep, it does. Breath is linked to the autonomic nervous system and brain regions like the insula and anterior cingulate cortex, which are involved in emotional and bodily responses. So, randomly throughout your day, like before you pick up the phone or open an email, stop, close your eyes, and take three deep, slow breaths. Shallow breathing tells our brains we are stressed, so our body kicks into fight or flight mode. Deep breathing triggers our relaxation response, so our body lets go of tension because it knows it is safe.
Give Meditation a Try
You don’t need to sit in a pretzel shape or move to an ashram to benefit from a meditation practice. Scientists have found that only 15 minutes of meditation lowers stress response and gives you a better, more positive outlook on life. If you’ve never tried it before or tried but “failed” (there’s no way to fail, by the way), try an app. There are many to choose from, and they all offer guided meditations that will help you steady your concentration.
Pay Deliberate Attention
Choose one short activity that you perform daily, one that you typically do on autopilot. Now, bring deliberate attention to performing it. Paying attention is the core of mindfulness, which involves focusing on the present moment with deliberate, non-judgmental awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. Some ideas include washing your hands or brushing your teeth. Slow down and experience the sensations. Genuinely experience them.
Use Your Instinct
Rather than deciding on something with your logical brain, tune into your gut and let your intuition tell you the answer. It’s okay to start small and work your way up to more significant decisions. You’ll be amazed at how spot-on your intuition is, whether it chooses what to have for lunch or whether or not to accept a marriage proposal. Seize the Day!
What Are You Tolerating?
Take a few minutes and fix something in your environment that has been bugging you. Change a lightbulb on your front porch, darn your favorite pair of socks, rearrange your medicine cabinet, reset your email signature. Whatever you’ve been tolerating lately, you should fix it, and then notice how such a small difference can positively impact your day.
Scratch It Off
Pick one thing that’s been on your to-do list since you can’t remember when and scratch it off your list. If it were that important, you would have done it by now. After you mark it off, notice how your body and mind respond. Ahhhhh.
Accept the Compliment
The next time someone offers you a compliment, accept it gladly. Avoid downplaying or dismissing the compliment, and instead, consider acknowledging the effort or feeling associated with it. Don’t brush it aside or claim you can’t take the credit. Say thank you and truly feel the appreciation the other person feels for you. Take the compliment into your heart, no matter how seemingly inconsequential it may be.
Thank you for taking the time to read these suggestions on
Putting Yourself First.
Please take a moment and share your successful experience on your
Mindfulness Journey
