About Self-Care:
Self-care is a really personal and individual thing. Each person has different needs, preferences, commitments, and challenges and there’s no one-size-fits-all formula that will be useful for everyone. It’s one of those things that a person has to formulate for themselves based on self-awareness and experience of what’s helpful and works for them.
Still, it’s easier said than done. Some people might not have time to exercise, or even sleep enough. Others have demanding jobs that allow little space for anything else. Some people forget to eat or to keep in touch with their friends or even to stay in tune with themselves.
Having said that, embedding self-care habits in our lives can go a long, long way to support our physical and mental health, and ensure our wellbeing is maintained. So it’s definitely worth the effort!
Here’s my two pennies’ worth, and an example of a self-care chart (see image at the top of the page). It’s a circle because there’s no hierarchy; each item serves a different function and all are equally important.
Self-care chart
Remembering my goals
Having an idea about where I’m going and what I’m trying to achieve can help to ground and focus. It helps to gain perspective and ultimately can become a metaphorical campus in times of difficulties, and an anchor to prevent us from getting lost or going astray.
Take care of my body
A healthy mind in a healthy body. Hours of being more or less static, sitting in front of the screen, or spending time indoors don’t have many health benefits. The body likes to stretch its’ muscles, move its’ joints and breathe fresh air. Considering there are so many movement practices, systems, and methods of exercise out there, then the only question that needs asking is – how does my body want to move?
Get enough sleep
How long or short that might be can differ a lot from one person to another. However, having a good, restful sleep is one of the important things for the health of the body.
Give myself permission to rest
Because it’s so easy to forget and, can be a lot harder to do than it sounds.
Accept the things I cannot change
This is a complicated one. Acceptance is a big piece of work in itself and is usually difficult because it means accepting something that is difficult and challenging. It’s about differentiating between what can, and can’t, be changed, and then searching for acceptance within that. How acceptance finally happens is a bit of a mystery, as many times it seems to happen on its own – but the important thing is to continue and aim for it, and surrender to the fact that there are some things we simply cannot change.
Maintain close relationships
Having people in our lives whom we can trust and turn to in times of need can make all the difference in the world when managing difficult times and crises. Often, having a good interaction with a close connection can very much act as a prevention measure and help us overcome challenges before they escalate and potentially overwhelm our ability to manage them. To regularly maintain these relationships we should also be available to others, especially when we’re fine and they’re struggling, so as to create a reciprocal exchange. It will be these relationships that will become the foundation of our support network.
Listen to my intuition
Gut feelings and intuition are usually correct and it’s better to be guided by them now than later regret not having followed them. It’s not so easy as many times we’ll talk ourselves out of listening to our intuition, believing we’re being rational, and choosing a head-over-heart type on an approach. Usually, people wouldn’t change having followed their intuition, and often it would have led them to exactly where they were meant to be.
Be kind to myself and others:
Life isn’t easy and it’s full of challenges. We all make mistakes and sometimes (even often!) behave in not-so-helpful ways, towards ourselves and others. Blaming, shaming and guilt doesn’t help to change or solve the situation, but being kind and trying to understand often helps to change our attitude. Then there’s the possibility of growth and moving on.
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