NEW YEAR NEW YOU, LIFE-CHANGING TIPS FOR SELF-CARE
NEW YEAR NEW YOU, LIFE-CHANGING TIPS FOR SELF-CARE
“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what is left of you”.
Ask yourself, “When did I last pause and take a moment for myself”?
Many years ago when I volunteered for Cruse Bereavement Care, someone asked me this question.
I remember thinking I’m a mum of three young children, I’m a wife, I’m a friend, I’m working, volunteering and studying, I don’t really have time to pause and take a moment.
During my time at Cruse Bereavement Care was when I actually began to understand the importance of self-care and over the years the changes I have seen in my clients when they practise self-care is literally life changing. My clients reported reduced stress and anxiety, a boost in self-esteem and improvements in physical health.
I learnt about the dual process model and the two paths you take whilst grieving. The loss-oriented path and then the restoration-oriented path, to survive you must cross over the road to both paths or grief will consume you. At times you will face your loss head on, other times you will focus on practical needs and once in a while you will need to take a break by engaging in self-care!
Self-care can be subtle or scheduled. It is about gaining a balance between your needs and the needs of others (your children, relationships, work).
Let’s break it down a little, we have 168 hours in a week, 56 of those hours are spent sleeping, 40 hours are spent at work, 35 hours are spent eating, driving, errands etc. That leaves 37 hours remaining…. Surely we can fit at least 10 minutes of self-care in per day?
Self-care can also be reflecting on your day, self-reflection is a process of consciously thinking through and evaluating your thoughts, beliefs and experiences as a means of learning about yourself.
Ask yourself, what did I do well today? What am I proud of? Did you witness something positive? Jot down your answers and reflect for 10 minutes.
Alternatively you can use the self-care challenge plan to give you ideas and then jot down how you felt afterwards.
In the morning our ‘cup’ is full, throughout the day the cup empties a little after each task we do, work, errands, cleaning, helping others, so we need to keep topping that cup up by practising self-care, we never want that cup to be completely empty!
“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what is left of you”.
Give our 30 day challenge a go and click here