WHERE TO BEGIN WITH SELF-CARE

Self-care is often right at the bottom of the list...

We run around like headless chickens sorting out the kids breakfast, lunch, dinner, homework, laundry, baths, cleaning the house, looking after our parter and pets, plus juggling a career, kicking KPI’s and making sure that everything is tickadeeboo…food in the fridge, card for Aunt Marg, to then crawl into bed at the end of the day, haggard and worn, zero sass and nada energy for anything but snoring.

How do we change the playlist when it comes to self-care? How does one know where to begin when the last twenty years has been the endless ticking of boxes, ends of lists that welcome yet more lists, with you, precious, beautiful you, not even at the bottom (of list), but instead, shoved to the back of the cupboard, out of sight, out of mind…and worst of all, out of your own mind. ('Mad? Or simply mindless to your needs?’ begs the question).

In our fabulous Empowerment for Life Facebook Group, where women from all across the globe, gather and champion one another on, in the highs and lows, the ebbs and flows of everything we call LIFE, we put this very question out and received some insightful feedback.

Here’s the advice from some incredible women who are on this very same journey as you and I, of trying to figure it all out whilst maintaining some kind of pose.

My 6 Top Tips To Self-Care

1. BE INTENTIONAL.
   Unless you come to the end of yourself and admit that something has to change, there will likely be no change. The need for change brings with it, intentionality. A determination to make something happen. Self-care requires that you be intentional. The dictionary meaning for intentional is done on purpose, deliberate. It’s time to be deliberate with self-care.
2. SET HEALTHY BOUNDARIES.
   You are going to have to MAKE TIME for self-care. This isn’t about fitting it in and around Henry’s football, Jenny’s piano lesson and your partner’s night out with mates from work. This is about looking through your schedule and MAKING TIME for YOU. Whether it’s an hour or half a day, whatever it is that you can make time for in a week, this is going to be YOUR TIME. Your R&R (Rest & Recoup).
3. FIND WHAT FILLS YOUR CUP.
   What do you LOVE to do that fills your cup? Is it a coffee date with your girlfriends? Is it getting your hair or nails done? A morning at the spa, a horse ride, a mountain hike… what re-energises you? What brings you back to life and restores that twinkle in your eye? Whatever it is, THAT’S what you are going to do in your R&R time.
4. LOCK IT IN.
   Don’t just talk about it. DO IT. Take A C T I O N. This means locking it in the calendar, arranging the babysitter, clearing out that time slot for nothing else but YOU. Selfish? Never! And you’ll know why as you keep reading.
5. BREATHE IN THE RESULTS.
   You will come home feeling like a queen. And rightfully so. Beautiful lady, you give and you give again. You deserve to be pampered, to be spoilt, to enjoy a moments breath so that you can come home, refreshed and well, ready to give from a cup overflowing.
6. DO IT AGAIN.
   It doesn’t mean that once you’ve had your pamper, you push yourself to haggard and bedraggled limits all over again. NO. This is about locking in a repeat entry for SELF-CARE. Once a week at a minimum. This is about forming new and healthy habits so that you can stand the test of time. Plus, it doesn’t have to be expensive. Isn’t there a saying that the best things in life are free?

Examples of FREE Self-Care, Cup-Filling Activities

Here’s some examples of FREE self-care, cup-filling activities that you can do to recoup. It doesn’t have to be an expensive habit!

• River or country walk
• City walk
• Ocean walk
• Mountain hike
• Bicycle ride
• Power-walk with a friend
• Picnic blanket, a flask of tea and a sandwich with a book in the park
• A cuppa with a neighbor

The irony of ’self-care’, a word that can be deemed as selfish:

“The more you look after yourself, the better you become as a person. The better you become as a person, the happier the home.”
— NALINI TRANQUIM

 

When you’re happy, more content, less frazzled, less stressed, your loved ones benefit from an even better version of YOU!

Here’s a little screensaver for you to download and save to your mobile device, as a daily reminder to take care of yourself, to be kind to yourself and to make time for yourself.

C’mon darling, you’ve got this. It’s time to put you first for a change. After all, love your neighbour as yourself.❤️

What self-care activities fill your cup, that you can share with others who come across this blog?