The Importance of Self Care
We are all so busy these days prioritising every little thing that happens from day to day, that we do forgot to take care of ourselves.
Our days are stressful and they just slip by and before you know it!
To fit everything into our day, people often skip lunch, forgot about their social life, stop exercising or taking care of their body.
Looking after ourselves by developing a self care plan plays a bit part in your health, wellbeing and your ability to manage stress long-term.
A lot of my good friends have recently become mothers and I’ve been able to see first hand how they selflessly take on the caregiving responsibilities, with not one thought for themselves. They prioritise their child before anything else or before taking care of themselves. Such a beautiful thing and its important that everyone, including these mothers take some time out.
Its important to have a self-care plan in place, either it be in your workplace; relating to your physical, emotional, spiritual care or relationship care.
The reason we do this is:
To reduce the negative effects of stress – even if we have a small amount of stress each day, as this builds up, after a while your mind and body just break down. This is when the body usually gets that cold that has been hanging around the office or muscle cramping etc
Overload – if you push yourself to much, sometimes we just can’t take it anymore and give up.
This is great for a person's performance and self esteem
It’s a reward and keeps us working hard without failure
Eating healthy keeps the mind sharp
Taking a 5-minute break usually means we achieve more
Some activities you can do for self care:
Meditate, even for 5 minutes a day before you get out of bed
Journal
Gratitude Journal – 3 things you are grateful for, do this each morning, lunch, smoko break or before you go to bed
Take some time to watch a movie or read a book
Do something creative
Take a class for fun
Spend some time with yourself, a self date! Take 30 mins or an hour to do something that nourishes you. Not your housework or reading or watching a movie but something that is going to make you feel great. Nourish your skin, get a massage, get a manicure/pedicure, get a facial.
Take a long shower or salt bath
De clutter – I guarantee you will feel cleansed without the clutter around the house or workplace
Spend time with friends or people who make you feel great
Help someone
Stretching
Go for a walk or run
Eat something nourishing
Have a date night once a week with your significant other
Feed your body great healthy food to avoid that sluggish feeling
Try to get one project finished before staring multiple ones. You will feel like you have achieved more
Spend time on what matters most to you
Soak your feet after a long day
Whatever your self plan is, thing about the things that can get in the way. Make sure you remove any barriers and think honestly what you can do to minimise the failure.
Think about doing something, even 5 minutes a day, that you can do every day. It's important to stick to the plan.
Re-assess how you go at the end of the month and make sure your plan is realistic.
If you can fit all of those busy things into your life right now for everyone else, you can spare 5 minutes a day for yourself.
