Self care and self love come in many shapes and sizes, and honestly it looks a little different for each of us.
For me, sometimes self care looks like going to a fun new workout class or a yummy yoga session, other times it looks like working on our personal budget, saying “no” to certain opportunities or even putting my phone away for the weekend.
The mode of self care and self love really depends on the day, week, and season of life.
I think self care is something important for all of us to check in and reflect on to make sure we are actually giving ourselves the care and love we need. It’s important to remember that if you don’t take care of yourself, it is nearly impossible to take care of anyone else.
This is absolutely different for every.single.person. but it’s important to recognize how the food we are eating really makes us feel. Recently a ton of my clients at Butler have told me that eating a certain way makes them feel “better.” When asked to elaborate on this feeling they say things like:
I also want you to note that eating foods to feel pleasure is also ok! I call that getting your Vitamin P 😉 (<—heard this term a while ago and I loved it so much that Vitamin P is something I talk about in person quite a bit!)
A goal of mine for 2019 is to attempt to be a little more relaxed and actually schedule “me” and “down time” into my day and week. For this time, I really mean like chill time, down time, time to do a craft, cook a new recipe (rather than just develop new recipes), read a book, watch TV, do nothing, play with your dog, walking outside, whatever. It may be hard to pull yourself away from your never-ending to-do list, but I promise that once you step away and actually chill/reset for a bit, you will come back more energized and productive than before.
Sleep is SO important, but so many of the people I work with tend to cut sleep out when they are short on time and high on stress. This kind of goes along with number 2, but being well rested will do wonders for your brain, energy levels, mood, and so many other areas of your life.
Do the people you follow bring you joy? I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I continue to follow people on instagram who bring negative feeling and emotion because I somehow WANT to feel that when I look at their accounts. Weird, I know, but the comparison struggle is real AND it’s totally human nature. That being said, we are totally in control of cultivating the instagram feed we want to see and surrounding ourselves with things that bring positivity into our lives. So, do it with me and audit who you follow on social.
To do this, spend about 15-20 minutes scrolling through your accounts and notice how you feel when you see certain pictures. Inspired? Happy? Joyful? Excited? Motivated? Jealous? Angry? Annoyed? Comparison (and not in a motivating/inspiring kind of way)? If you feel anything negative, unfollow. Try doing this once a month, once a quarter or at a frequency that works for you.
This may include budgeting, goal setting, meal planning for the week, writing a grocery list, responding to emails, writing a to-do list, organizing a space (or spaces) in your home or office, etc. These tasks may not seem “fun” but they are absolutely essential to you getting to where you want to be, and it’s important to recognize that no one else is going to do these tasks for you (within reason!). Of course, it’s appropriate to ask for help in certain cases when things are outside your area of expertise and you can afford a professional to guide you in the right direction, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do the thing…and usually it isn’t as bad as you thought it would be!
I put a question out on instagram asking how some of you practice self care, and here is what you shared!
Based on this post, here are a few similar ones you should check out.
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Love your perspective. It’s so true that sometimes self care isn’t doing relaxing or fun things, but things that get us to a better place!
Thanks, Kelly! That’s exactly right!
These are wonderful. Along the lines of a social media audit I do the 1 inch box – draw a 1×1 box and write in the names of the people whose opinions matter to you. That helps me feel less stressed about a number of things.
Love that idea!