February: Self-Care!
By: Claire Duarte
During the month of “LOVE”, our focus is often on showing love to those around us, which is such a wonderful thing to set aside a special time to do! We thought it would be fun to encourage you to also practice some self-love and self-care this February. you real. As similar as they care, self-care and self-love can be two different things. Though, I think self-love is a combination of the thoughts and feelings we have towards ourselves, while self-care are the acts in which we take in order to practice more self-love. That being said, some of today’s tips are more geared towards how you can better practice some of these self-care tips to promote more self-love! There are certain activities that may resonate more or less with you, and the point is not that you have to do all of the following, but perhaps practice integrating one or more into your daily/weekly routine.
Self-love is much like a muscle. It needs to be stretched, exercised, rested, and worked! Even if the idea of caring for yourself seems to come naturally to you, it’s still important to practice self-care regularly in order to best take care of our physical and mental well-being! It can also be managing your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and more. Here are most possible tips and things to do this month (and beyond!) to help integrate more self-care into your life!
JOURNALING
This doesn’t have to be a “dear diary” type practice; you can find an approach that makes sense for you! I have found that journaling about my daily/weekly/and even yearly goals can feel so invigorating. It is much like an envisioning practice of what you would like to accomplish, and then “acting as if”. To “act as if” means to act as if the goal that you are working on has already come true. So an example of this could be:
Today I will_____________
This week I will __________
This year I will ___________
The more you practice writing down your goals in the state that they have already come true, the more you repeatedly instill this positive belief that they can and WILL come to fruition! You don’t always have to know HOW something will happen, but it all starts with the belief that it will! All you need is about 5-10mins each day, and a blank journal.
GRATITUDE PRACTICE
This is probably one of my favorites and something that I initially thought was a bit more cliche, until I actually tried it. I think what I never fully realized is that the power of our daily actions can truly influence our thoughts. So by simply taking 5-10 minutes to quietly write down things that I’m grateful for each day, really did make me feel good. Again, ideally this would be done first thing in the morning in a blank journal, and all you have to do is write down your top 3-5 things that you are most grateful for that day. You can take it a step further by writing down 3 things that you are grateful for about yourself (IE, I love my hair, grateful for my health, proud of my singing abilities, etc).
SILENCE & MEDITATION
Sometimes if we don’t practice controlling our own thoughts and feelings, they will control us. That’s why from time to time I’ve practiced some silence and meditation myself. This is a great way to distance ourselves from technology, social media, ground yourself, bring you back to your goals, your personal intentions, and desires for yourself. There are some great timed apps for this that I think are easy to use:
Some of these apps you may have to pay for, but if you want to try doing this on your own, I recommend setting a timer for 5min, if you have never practiced meditation before. You can always build on the time increments as you get better with managing your mind and thoughts, but 5mins is a great and easy way to build it into your daily routine.
EXERCISE
A balanced diet and good sleep are both important pieces of caring for oneself. But, moving your body has so many incredible benefits that not only help keep you physically healthy, but also emotionally and mentall healthy. Moving our bodies helps release endorphins, manage stress, and sometimes even distract our minds by allowing us to focus on the movement at hand. Thirty minutes 5-6 times a week is a great goal. Though, there’s nothing wrong with starting smaller, and building your way up! Perhaps going for a walk with a friend, or around your neighborhood, doing yoga, going for a run or bike ride, trying out a new exercise class, or even joining a gym - whatever makes you feel most comfortable, as long as it is something you work towards maintaining and something you enjoy!
ACTIVITIES & HOBBIES
There are so many activities that can be self-care! Other things can include maintaining your own personal interests and hobbies, such as: horseback riding, art, music, playing an instrument, building a computer, playing sports, volunteering, religious activities, etc. Or it could mean something on the lines of making more time for relaxing, such as taking a bath, making a favorite meal, spending time with loved ones, listening to music you enjoy, etc.
The point with all of these activities is to not just do them once, but to integrate them into your daily or weekly life! I like the goal of building one new habit at a time, work towards making them a consistent part of your routine, then add something new! Many of these activities I suggested are often done best by starting your day with them, however, they can also be done in the evening if that is better suited for your schedule. The point is to make it a consistent habit in order to effectively practice self-care.
The best kind of self-care is the one that you incorporate into your routine. Does not always need to necessarily be a daily habit, but the more you practice self-care, the more you can increase your own self of self-love!