Self Care is getting a lot of air time these days and rightly so. Many nations are seeing unprecedented levels of excess weight, illness, relation break down, anxiety/panic/depression and many people are working longer hours than ever. #hustle #grind have become badges of honour. Taking time out for yourself, your life and your relationships should have some kind of priority in your life though and if it doesn’t its time to ask yourself why that is.

Self care is so much more than the flower petal strewn baths we see in the pictures though, glass of wine in hand, pretty toenails on display. I’m so on board for pretty toenails though… just sayin.

Deep, meaningful self care is body, mind and soul plus, the environment you live and work in, the people you surround yourself with. The habits you have – good or bad, your finances under control and working for you, to be maintaining or improving your level of health. To have caring, fun, enjoyable relationships in your life along with time for yourself to either simply be or pursue the things that you enjoy. You may not have all of these under control but at the very least we should be devoting some time and effort to maintaining and enjoying or achieving them.

All of those areas deserve more attention than can be fitted in one blog post but lets name just a few ideas to start and we’ll keep it really simple.

  • Your Home Life.

If getting your house or life in order is your challenge. Find out how to work with me here.  Alternately, you can totally do this yourself. For some tips on where to start go here:

https://everbelsant.com/blog/e-r-a-s-e-everything-part-1/

https://everbelsant.com/blog/e-r-a-s-e-everything-part-2/

https://everbelsant.com/blog/e-r-a-s-e-everything-part-3/

https://everbelsant.com/blog/e-r-a-s-e-everything-part-4/

  • Taking care of your Financial health.

Childbirth, unemployment, illness, layoffs, retirement, some kind of emergency. At some stage in most of our lives there will be either none or a lack of work and therefor money. The paychecks will stop, the bills won’t or there’ll be a need for a great layout of money with little notice. There are many scenerio’s but wherever possible you should have a plan in place and resources for those times. Insurances. Passive Income. Emergency funds. Savings. No debt. Just to name a few. There’s a great saying. “The best time to plan for Winter is in the Spring”

Start educating yourself. Books. Blogs. Budgets. Find your current position and go from there. Cash. Possessions. Property. Debts. Outgoing. Incoming….Even if it’s scary it’s better to know. Start where you are and put a plan in place and start creating peace of mind for yourself if you don’t already have that.

 

 

  • Taking care of You

Seriously. I know you know this stuff, we all do so lets try and put more of it into practice more often. I’m guilty as charged here also. We’re aiming for improvement and progress, not perfection. Small adjustments for big long term benefits.

Choose healthier options and portion sizes more often. Paleo. Vegetarian. Keto. Gluten Free. Educate yourself if your not sure and choose what works for you. Removal of most processed foods is always a good place to start. Again..Books. Blogs the information is available for free everywhere. Then take time to eat. Throwing down your food at your desk, kitchen counter or between kids sports drop offs needs to stop. Sit. Stop. Eat. Mindfully. Peacefully. Preferably with family at the table when you can.

Get the massage, pedicure, take the bubble bath … regularly. Throw a face mask on at the end of the day. Use an eye cream, do your nails. Show yourself and your body that you care.

Dentists. GP’s. Specialists. Skin Care (Australians especially. There’s free clinics for this, so there’s no excuse. You know our skin cancer rates Aussies don’t throw the dice on this one!) Follow up the tooth pain, niggly knee’s, or your personal health issue or just check in to make sure your numbers and stats are good, teeth professionally cleaned and cleared of problems. Book the check up appointments. Attend them.

Find a form of relaxation that fits you. Meditation. Grounding (Literally just taking off your shoes and putting your feet to bare earth or grass) This one is super simple and works – feel your anxiety, stress, body .. relax. Tai Chi. Qi Gong. Knitting. Doing Jigsaw Puzzles. NOT TV or Social Media or Computer Screens of any kind. Pick your poison and schedule it in if you need to. Turn your brain off for a bit – relaaaaaaaaaax.

Move. In whichever way you enjoy doing that. Dancing. Gyms. Walking. Climbing. Martial Arts. Gardening. The choices are endless. Pick what you like or want to do or try. Change it up regularly if you need to. Aim for at least half an hour a day of moving. More is better but less is still better than none. Our bodies are not meant to be stagnant and for many of us unfortunately, our  modern lifestyles absolutely bring us too much of just that.

Sleep. If your life is so busy/important that your not getting more than a few hours a night I can guarantee you you have more issues than just a lack of sleep. I won’t dictate numbers here with you, I know we’re all different. If your number is less than 5 or 6 though I would seriously start asking yourself some questions. Also – Sleep banking doesn’t work. Getting 10 hours on a Sunday to make up for multiple days of 3 or 4 etc is not going to be a successful long term tactic. Napping is being shown to be a viable addition though for people lacking (moderately) in snooze time. 20 to 45 mins and no longer than an hour seems to be the consensus number on that one. After that it seems you just wake up feeling worse. Get thee a regular sleep pattern though – it’ll do wonders.

Start or try something new. A hobby. A sport. Take yourself to a museum, a beach, a park. Have some fun. Life is to be not just lived but enjoyed. Buy the flowers or the scented candle. Plant a garden. Learn to bake fancy cupcakes.

Find time for people. Family. Friends. Community. Make time for them but be selective about the quality of the people you let into your life. Prioritize them or put time into meeting new friends & acquaintances. Know your community. Talk to your local shop keepers, your neighbours. Even if you don’t have much time you can say hi to the Mailman, the security guard, the receptionist as you go about your day. Thank your server. People with other people as often as you can – mostly it turns out to be great. People and communities not corporations or jobs make the world go around … and enjoyable mostly. It should go without saying to remove any toxic people from your  life

If you can get it…. meaningful work, whatever that may be for you. In your paid work would be perfection but you could volunteer or contribute to a charity. If none of these are possible, ensure your getting joy in your personal life elsewhere.

 

That’s more than enough for now. I know you got this. Let us know in the comments where you’re going to start.

Here’s to health and pretty toe nails more often.