4 Must-do’s For Creating Your Crazy Great Life: Part 2 of 3

Welcome back to the Fundamentals of Self-Care.  Hopefully you have been practicing Saying No, which has freed up a few more minutes or hours for you to put these next principals into action next.  Today I am covering four more essentials to keep in mind as you create a self-care practice for yourself.

Fundamental #2:  Schedule it.  Daily.  In ink.  Most of us ignore our own care until our health or relationships show signs of damage already done.  But true self-care is PROACTIVE and PREVENTATIVE.  Similar to the concept of drinking water before you have signs of thirst so that you maintain a hydrated state, proactively caring for yourself keeps you in an optimal place, instead of scrambling reactively to the negative consequences of your own neglect.

Whatever your self-care time looks like, put it on your daily calendar as a high priority item and vigilantly guard that time.  Did you catch the daily part?  Schedule something for yourself everyday.

Fundamental #3:  Begin today.  Yes, TODAY.  Don’t wait for your schedule to magically clear up before beginning.  Only have 5-10 minutes a day?  Great, start with that.  Then increase your self-care by 5-10 more minutes each month.  Get creative and sneak it in wherever you can.  Some of the “mundane” things you are already doing can become incredibly enjoyable and restorative if you infuse it with self-care:  add some elements to your shower to create a 10-15 minute spa experience, listen to an educational or entertaining audio-book or podcast during your commute to work, turn dish washing into a break from all thinking while you practice deep breathing, or enjoy yard-work as a natural stress reliever—all those things you want to say and do to your boss…take it out on the weeds instead!

Where are you already spending time that can be re-purposed with intention?  That is the easiest way to start today.

Fundamental #4:  Individual.  Identify the activities that help you feel your best.  What is restorative and nurturing for one person will not be so for another.  You may need more time alone while your spouse will thrive on a night out with friends.  And that’s…OKAY—I’m a therapist, I had to say that at some point.  Experiment with new possibilities.  Two weeks from now I will post an extensive list of self-care activities you can try out.

Be bold!  You may be surprised at how good you feel from something you once thought to be silly or unnecessary.

Fundamental #5:  Check-in.  Frequently ask yourself, “What is the most loving/compassionate thing I can do for myself right now?”   Sometimes the answer will be an activity, but many times it is simply examining your self-talk for criticism and replacing it with encouragement, kindness and forgiveness.  Checking in also includes the needs of your future self.  “What is the wisest and kindest thing I can do today that will benefit me tomorrow?”

Learning to check-in on a frequent basis helps create a more constant state of wellbeing.  Consider setting an alarm on your phone as a reminder to proactively check in.

You now have 5 fundamentals of self-care that you can begin using today. Remember, with any life change, some people can manage lots of change all at once while others need to ease into it bit by bit.  If you lean toward easing, focus on one or two of these fundamentals and practice them until they are habit before moving on to the others.  You are much more likely to create lasting change this way.

Next week:  the final four fundamentals to self-care.

To Your Great Life!

Becky