Self-care is my favourite part of living (along side taking care of my son).
After battling depression for several years and in general being neglectful towards myself, I’ve now come to a stage where I’ll never do anything that harms me – I will not eat unhealthy food, I’ll not fall prey to obsessive thoughts, and I’ll avoid picking up unnecessary fights. My inner peace matters to me. My health matters to me. And my satisfaction with life is of paramount importance. At the ripe old age of 41 I’ve finally realised that only I can gift myself all of the above. (And there’s tremendous power in the realisation that I can gift myself all of the above.)
Taking care of ourselves must be our top priority, not a choice to be made after attending to all other responsibilities and obligations. Self-care is not optional.
Ignoring our well-being affects both our physical and mental health. This can have cascading effects. It may lead to strain in our relationships, it may affect our performance on professional front, and it may leave us feeling impoverished because we didn’t tend to our deepest desires. Practicing self-care demonstrates our relationship with ourselves and the respect we have for our own needs. When we value ourselves, we are able to prioritise our self-care.
You are not going to stumble into a caring attitude towards yourself if you have never paid attention to it before. But you can nudge yourself towards it, bit by bit. For best results it should be woven into your lifestyle.
Start your day with prayer + meditation
I do not mean this in a religious sense, though if that is how you want to do it, more power to you. Prayer to me essentially means connecting with a higher power, seeking guidance from it, or simply turning your worries over to it so that you can begin the day on a fresh note.
If time is limited, choose your words and intentions wisely, focusing on what is most important to you while maintaining inner peace. (A grateful heart does wonders for the self. You really want to be doing several things through the day that are wondrous for the self. That is the definition of self-care.)
Follow with a 15-minute meditation. Because all talking and no listening is no good. As someone said, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Prayer is us talking to God, and meditation is God talking to us.”
If you’re especially distraught, you may want to practice loving-kindness meditation first.
Eat a hearty, healthy breakfast
Begin your day with healthy fuel for body and mind. (For those doing Intermittent Fasting, whenever you break your fast, do it with the right foods.) Prepare your breakfast lovingly and enjoy every bite of it.
If you have the luxury of time, enjoy your morning tea/coffee as well, sipping it mindfully while appreciating the flavours. You can even convert this into an opportunity for tea mediation.
Either find work you love, or find a way to make peace with your work
Since work takes up a huge chunk of our mental resources, not to mention all our day, it’s best that we strive to find something enjoyable. If that is out of the question, be grateful to have the job you do and focus on doing it well.
Turn off negative commentary in your head while you are working. Negative thoughts towards ourselves, our circumstances, our coworkers, or the world in general are incredibly harmful. They don’t just stay in our narrative, they seep into our beliefs and negatively impact how we show up in the world. A self-caring person would pause before getting carried away by negative voices in their head. Instead, utilise dissatisfactory situations to fuel you towards better choices and outcomes.
Meal choices should reflect loving thought, and not just cravings
At lunch, indeed during any meal time, choose healthy options. Remind yourself that you’re doing this for your overall well-being and not just for the temporary satisfaction of your taste buds. To eat that which is genuinely good for you is a great act of self-love. Would you feed your child crap? I hope not! (Find out the daily nutritional requirements of a person your age and create a monthly menu that allows you to fulfil those as best as you can. This will make your meal choices easier.)
‘Me time’ is golden and godly
Try to schedule ‘me time’ into your daily routine. This doesn’t mean wasting your time on social media or mindlessly bingeing content elsewhere. It means either completely unwinding (the opposite of bombarding your mind with more content), or focusing/meditating on what you truly desire and creating a plan to work towards it. On days you don’t feel like doing anything, just enjoy a quiet cup of tea while sitting in nature and letting the breeze caress your face. Speaking of which…
Go out in nature often
Nature is therapeutic. Whether it’s an early morning walk or an evening stroll, being out and about in nature is a great way to unplug and recharge. I live in Queensland, Australia, surrounded by natural beauty and greenery all year round. We are also lucky to be living fairly close to the beach. But those who live in concrete jungles can seek out green spaces around them. Breathe in that goodness. It’s magic.
Wash your face, do your skincare
Well, this is a skincare blog, after all. And I really do believe skincare (and grooming in general) is a part of self-care. Create a regimen best suited to your skincare goals and implement it most days of the week.
Sleep like your life depends on it
Because it does. I’m not going to go into the health benefits of sleep here – suffice it to say that as someone who has struggled a lot in this department, I know only too well the detrimental effects of not getting enough sleep on a regular basis. You need to do whatever it takes to get yourself into bed and fast asleep at certain hour. A good night’s sleep is the basis of self-care, and of life, too.
So, basically…
Self-care encompasses the actions and behaviours we adopt towards ourselves, which are reflected in the daily decisions we make. It’s an attitude, which comes from a place of love and concern for our well-being.
You’ve been through a lot, and you still have a lot to accomplish; the last person you should be taking for granted is yourself.
