Self care is an important activity to do every day. Doing so will lead toward a better balance among your dimensions of wellness and lead toward improved overall health and wellness. Life is precious, and it is meant to be enjoyed.
Self-care is the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, during periods of stress.
This is so important for every woman because of the multi roles which we play that gives us the tendency to be stressed most of the time.
It is ok to sometimes focus on yourself, take time to rest, reflect, replenish, and renew.
You focus on taking care of our own needs, goals, and very importantly your health. Taking time to nourish and nurture who you are
Our ability to know when to stop and turn the flood light on ourselves is wisdom. Self-care is important for managing stress, preventing burn-out and mitigating compassion fatigue (the self-inflicted burden of showing compassion to everyone)
We can only take people as far as we have taken ourselves. We can only show compassion and care to those around us to the extent that we have shown to ourselves.
If you do not know how to take care of yourself then it will be a challenge in giving that to your loved ones around you.
There are 4 dimensions of self-care:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Psychological
- Spiritual
PHYSICAL: involves ensuring an overall healthy lifestyle that includes eating healthy, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of exercise. Consider decluttering your home so that you have a feeling of spaciousness and manageability. Take time away from computers, TV, and your smartphone (sedentary lifestyles are a health issue). Enjoy moments to rest and replenish.
EMOTIONAL: Setting clear boundaries on your time and energy. Create emotional boundaries in your relationships (protect yourself), surround yourself with positive people, affirmative and inspiring messages. Have the habit of addressing problems as they build up, don’t pile emotions up, receive and give love, kindness, and support. Spend and invest time more in people you care for and love, and those that care and love you
PSYCHOLOGICAL: This may include personal and professional development. Pay attention that you are in your control of your sphere of influence. Personal reflection, on your thoughts, experiences and feelings. You can do this through journaling, meditation, listening to feedback from objective people, and counseling.
SPIRITUAL: This includes connecting with essence, purpose and meaning. It includes prayer and meditation. Practice gratitude, patience, compassion, empathy, giving. Appreciate the little things around you. Identify what is meaningful to you in your work, career, business and life. Find a purpose in life and do not just be a statistic. Let something strong drive you daily to do what you do. Establish a connection with The One that is greater than us all.