Recently I was watching a webinar about self-care, it made me think about the meaning of self care for me and how people understand that topic. It is very popular that when people decide to take care of themselves they will take some days off, go to a spa, do yoga and meditate or travel somewhere.
But what about, everyday, self-care? The everyday self care, so you don’t need to feel overwhelmed when you go to work, you don’t feel that you are not around the right people, or you are stuck in a specific situation.
We all blinded by this picture that requires a lot of planning, time and money to spend on an all inclusive spa-hotel in very fancy destination.
Yet, there are many ways to take care of yourself, as you get carried by the ambition of keep going, everyday, doing the things that you are passionate about, keep giving away your energy without looking back to your health and your own self. Then you got hit by all the stress and challenges all at once where you start thinking about taking a break from everything and find an escape, while you don’t really need to do that, when you focus on the details of your everyday life; the food you eat, the people you interact with, the friends you hangout with, the colleagues you work with, the times you say “yes” to do something that is out of your abilities, the times you say “no” to opportunities that will help you grow. All these details contribute positively or negatively to your own care.
There are three (3) main elements of self-care, you should consider:
- Food knowledge: It doesn’t mean to eat salad all the time. It is about being aware and knowledgeable about how food affects you and your health and make choices based on what is good for your health.
- Mindfulness: it is the self check in, take time to check with yourself when you are in the middle of a busy work day, an important relationship, or a project, and ask yourself how you feel? How are you doing? how this situation making you feel?
We tend to keep going, non stop to check in on ourselves because we have a bigger mission that requires our full commitment but what happens to the mission if the person driving this mission is not 100% functional!
- Habit Shifting: As we are seeking growth, we will never be the same person who we used to be. We go through a lot of experiences, challenges and failures sometimes, that contribute to our development and growth. It is important to be open to accept what is coming your because growth means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and being able to adopt new habits and strengthen existing ones. So be willing to change your habits.
Selfcare is a self relationship, that you need to keep checking in all the time with yourself, listen to your needs, your feelings and thoughts and apply the 3A approach:
- Acknowledge: what’s going on and be aware of your situation.
- Accept: the situation that your are -currently- in and the challenges around you, Accept that it is part of your learning journey.
- Ask: what do I need? list the actions that you need to take and apply them with dedication.
There is no recipe for self-care, but my only advice is to include your self-care in your daily life routine in the smallest details and the steps you take toward achieving your goals. And YES for a trip to meditate and explore the world, but don’t wait till that trip comes! work on yourself everyday and put yourself and your self care first!
