Self care

What is self care really? Is having self care important? I have seen so many people go non stop putting everything and everyone before themselves and noticed how it affects their health. Your car can’t run without the oil being changed, brake fluid checked, and other routine maintenances necessary for the overall health of the vehicle. So why do we not apply preventive maintenance to ourselves for overall health?

Self-care is centered around these areas; physical, mental, spiritual, and social. These areas must all work accordingly to have effective outcomes for your self.

Here’s some tips to a healthy start of self care if you don’t know where to start;

1.) Have a journal of all your accomplishments you’ve done. When you are feeling unmotivated take a look at your journal. This will help with your mental health.

2.) Stretch in the morning and grab yourself a coffee to wake up peacefully. Go sit on your back porch to enjoy the sunrise. Waking up earlier is a head start for a good day! You can get more things done when you wake up earlier. This will help your mental and physical health.

3.)Substitute bad habits with good habits for example ; Using a hot tool on your hair without a heat protectant ;) also you need to throw in a texture spray for your finished style with said heat protectant. I find it much EASIER to take care of my hair when I have a whole SET of products (in order) for my daily routine rather than just one bottle of heat protectant that I may forget about.

4.) When something exciting happens at work-call a friend to let them know. Don’t just call a friend when something negative happens. Celebrate your wins! (Even the small ones) When you do this your friends want to start celebrating their wins with you as well. This will help with your social health.

5.)Get a massage! I finally caved and got a back,neck, and shoulder massage one day after work... and my goodness was I glad I did. I released so much tension from my neck and shoulders and instantly felt more relaxed. A few weeks later I got a full body massage. The masseuse said I really needed a massage in my feet and calves not just my back. I took her word for it and she was right. Our feet are the foundation of our body. They carry us. We owe it to our feet to pamper them. This will help balance your mental and physical health.

6.)Spiritual health such as devotions, church, small groups, prayer groups.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “Slow and steady wins the race.” Well, that’s true. You must take a pause sometimes to refocus, to be rejuvenated, and to not get “burnt out”. If you keep going non stop, skipping lunch here, losing sleep there, eventually your work or project will be slacking. Eventually you will constantly feel lethargic by not taking care of your nutritional habits.Sounds to me like self care is pretty crucial huh?

I want to encourage you to take a few minutes (at least) of your day to focus on yourself. It’s okay to be selfish from time to time. You owe it to your health.