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Self-care is necessary to living and leading well.
For one, the more well taken care of you are, the more you can give over a long period of time. You have gifts inside of you the world desperately needs, but in order for you to give them to the world at the capacity they were meant to be given, we’re going to need you operating out of a full place.
Second, you were designed to thrive in life and live abundantly. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect, but it does mean that you’re well taken care of and connected, so that you don’t run dry or lose your hope over anything.
We need to take you from just surviving while feeling burnt out to feeling nourished, taken care of and loved right where you are right now. And to do that, we need to make self-care a lifestyle, not a once-a-year type of thing.
So, here are five ways you can make self-care a priority to get you living and leading well.
Put it in your weekly schedule.
Taking care of yourself is so important that it needs to be put in your schedule. Find simple ways that make you feel taken care of that you can add to your weekly schedule. Self-care isn’t the same for everyone, so make sure that you choose activities that actually fill you up!
Make a nourishing list for hard days.
Hard days happen. We all know it. But sometimes we can use hard days to engage in stuff that doesn’t actually make us feel better; it just numbs us out. So, instead create a list that you can head to instantly when a hard day happens and pick an activity from that list. For example, “when I am having a hard day, I will have a bubble bath.”
Have five minute go-to activities.
Sometimes you don’t have the time or money to go get a massage or spend a day doing nothing productive, so brainstorm some ways that you can feel taken care of in five minutes or less. Some go-to ones for me are to rub my wrist, light a candle, journal, and so on.
Create a bedtime routine.
Bedtime routines have been game-changing for me. There is something about cuddling into bed feeling at ease. So, create a bedtime routine, where you add in a couple things before bed to take care of yourself especially well. You could add things like prayer, reading, bathing, stretching, journaling, and so on. Even if it just means adding one or two things, you will inevitably fill yourself back up to a place of overflow.
Change how you talk to yourself.
The way you talk to yourself matters. Because you could do all these amazing things for yourself, but if you’re still telling yourself that you suck or you’re not smart or fill-in-the-blank, then you’re uprooting all that work. Get on your team. Show yourself kindness.
How are you going to make self-care a priority in your life?
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