Looking after ourselves is a simple thing, but it’s amazing how many of us don’t do it. Whether we’re going through a bad time, or we are just leaving the tunnel, we can lose that important aspect of self-care. In one respect, it’s so simple to say that we need to look after ourselves, but it can be quite difficult in practice. So many of us feel that maybe we don’t have the tools to do it, or some feel that we don’t deserve to look after ourselves because we have already got a negative opinion of ourselves. But it’s important to note that we all deserve some sort of self-care, and we just need to get into the habit of it because nobody can do it for us. Are there any simple ways for us to do this?
Treat Yourself Little And Often
Part of looking after ourselves is about ensuring that we reinforce the fact that we do matter. Treating ourselves little and often is a simple way to continue looking after ourselves by giving us permission to enjoy something. The great thing is that there are so many little treats that can make a big difference to our day. Something like that little cup of coffee in the morning with some peace and quiet can set you up for the day, or giving yourself twenty minutes to lie down on the sofa and feel really indulgent with a book can give you that reinvigorated sensation.
The fact of the matter is, there are so many little things that you can do to treat yourself little and often, it’s almost criminal how easy it is. You can take it one step further and invest in subscription boxes, so even if you do forget to treat yourself, you’ll have a handy little reminder come through the letterbox with your favourite type of indulgent treat or a new book. Part of looking after ourselves is about doing something little and often, and we can forget how important this really is. Because we’ve been so used to going through something difficult that we end up neglecting the little things that make us enjoy life, this can be a stark reminder that we need five minutes to ourselves on occasion.
Focus On Your Self-development
If you’ve gone through a bad time recently, you may find that you’ve lost the ability to do the things that you really enjoy. Sometimes, we have to get back in contact with who we are and figure out what we want. If we have spent so long neglecting our hobbies, or we lose sight of what we want, making our self-development a priority again gives us the chance to be in the driving seat. Focusing on your self-development isn’t necessarily about undertaking massive changes or learning brand-new skills, but it can be about finding that little meaning to life that gives you the opportunity to focus on the things that matter.
Your self-development can be a crucial aspect of regaining a sense of who you are and becoming the person that you want to be. When we go through a bad time, it gives us some sense of clarity because we start to focus on the things that really matter. When you go through grief, you may realise that some friendships that you’ve been trying to maintain aren’t useful at all. And as far as your self-development is concerned, there are so many different ways for you to pursue this. And as long as you feel that sense of satisfaction within yourself that you can change for the better, this is all that matters.
Remember Your Health
Part of any difficult circumstance means that we could neglect our physical health. But we also have to remember our mental health at the same time. It all depends on the situation that you’ve been through. It’s a good idea to look at where you were before the major change & compare it to now and see what the big differences are. You may have undergone a difficult time, and as such, the healthy habits you once had have fallen by the wayside. But you have to remember your health. It’s easy enough for us to neglect it when we’re young enough, but after a while, those little problems can soon manifest into bigger ones.
As we get older, and we go through stressful situations, we can feel the physical symptoms of stress. Perhaps you now get numerous headaches or feel a little bit weaker. And these things can impact our frame of mind.
Physical health and mental health are intertwined. We have to remember that working out is very beneficial for our bodies as it can also give us that sense of focus and structure that may have been missing. Focus on your health, and you may see a drastic difference in your outlook.
Stay Sociable
Our comfort zone can tend to stay pretty close to us. And if we’re not in the mood to see people, after a while, this becomes a habit that is difficult to escape from. It’s important that we stay sociable, especially as we get older because that opportunity to keep ourselves nimble in a mental sense is all about being sociable. You may find that you stay at home a lot for the very simple reason that you are not in the mood to go out. But after a while, this habit compounds itself, and if so much time has gone by, that habit can be very difficult to escape from.
Becoming sociable again is partly to do with reconnecting with your friends, but also with remembering that being out is good for you. You begin to reap the benefits of different people who have different ways of thinking than you and take part in inspiring conversations. Looking after yourself isn’t just about protecting yourself in a metaphorical cocoon, but it’s about remembering that this self-imposed comfort zone can breed an inability to remain sociable.
Remember That You Need To Escape Sometimes
Looking after ourselves is about those little treats, staying in touch with our friends, and looking at developing ourselves, but sometimes we have to remember that after a difficult situation, we need to escape the rat race from time to time. Learning how to look after ourselves can be about gauging the situation and realising that we need to take a step back. But there’s a big difference between taking a step back for a short period of time in comparison to staying away indefinitely.
Learning that we need to escape is partly to do with our own individual attitudes to a situation, but it’s also about ensuring that when it does become too much and that we have really tried our best, we have the courage to step away. That need to escape is about running away from our problems but it’s also about having that well-earned break. You may find that if you’ve been through a difficult time recently, you have tried your hardest to maintain some balance, but things have been obstructing you every step of the way.
This means that whether you’ve buried yourself in work, focused on maintaining structure for the benefit of everyone else, or just pushed through without addressing your own feelings, you need to give yourself that permission to step away. We all need to escape from time to time, but the important thing is that we come back. This is why people need holidays. You have a holiday so you can get away from the norm, but also learn to remember what the important things are in life. We all need to give ourselves permission to step away from the rat race, but so few of us do.
It really is that simple to look after you
These are all deceptively simple, but how many of these have you really tried? We all need to remember the basics, but we also need to remember that looking after ourselves isn’t just something we need to do on occasion; it’s an ongoing process. Whether you decide to treat yourself little and often with small gifts, undertake a little bit of exercise every couple of days, or just throw your hands in the air and say “I need a break” are things that will benefit you in the long run.
Understanding how to look after yourself can be a lifelong lesson. Some people are too proud to say that they need help, and so they continue to push through until they get stressed and unwell. When you start to realise that looking after yourself isn’t so difficult, that actually you can allow yourself five minutes to do those breathing exercises, or step away from the situation, this will make you a far better person, and you are able to give more to everyone else. Those people that pride themselves on giving themselves completely for the benefit of others can find that they lose a sense of who they are. Looking after yourself is the perfect opportunity to reclaim this sense of self.
How do you look after yourself? do you practice self-care?
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