In this world, you have to be good to yourself. If you can’t be good to you, then who else will? Some of us may well find it easier to be kind to other people and neglect ourselves/ this is simply not a healthy way to live. Everyone needs a little self-care and time to relax and unwind. If you have a family and a lot of responsibilities, it is easy to forget about yourself while trying to keep everything together. However, over time the stresses and strains of a life like this will begin to show. It may even lead to burnout, which is good for no one, not you, your partner, or your children. If you learn how to take care of yourself, you will find that you are more relaxed and are more able to make the best decision for you and the family. Being good to yourself is, therefore, not a selfish life choice; it is a life choice that makes you more self-aware and essentially a better and more rounded person. Your level of well-being will increase, and your happiness will too. This is reflected in better relationships and quality of life. So, to help you out, here are a few tried and tested ways you can be good to yourself.
Practice Gratitude
What could be a better way of being good to yourself than focusing and giving gravity to all the good things about you and your life? You may be extremely negative about yourself, but everyone can think of at least one thing that they are grateful for. It could be the color of your hair, or the nice town that you live in, or anything at all. When you wake up in the morning, try to come up with three things in your life that you are grateful for. Focus on these things and the emotions that they produce. Concentrate on those good feelings and let them flood over your whole body. Try and hang on to this good feeling as long as possible. Movie how doing this stops you feeling stressed, depressed, and worried. The longer you can do this, the better. Doing it in the morning is a tactical thing. It is about starting the day on the right foot. Start as you mean to go on and all that. When you find yourself dwelling on some negative thing during the day, try and conjure up one of these things and the positive emotions that they created and allow these things to wash away the bad feelings. Practice gratitude every day, and your sense of well-being should rise, and as this happens, you will notice that good things start to happen.
Treat Yourself
It is important that you treat yourself. How you treat yourself is down to you and your individual circumstance. For those of you on a budget, a treat could be something like a hot bath once a week. A bit of time where you can relax and let the world melt away. Perhaps you can do this with a glass of wine, some aromatherapy oils, candles, whale music, the whole hog. Maybe you would prefer to go to the spa and get a massage. Some of you may want new clothes or shes as a treat. Take a look at Crockett & Jones shoes for some great ideas on how to treat yourself. Buying yourself something, or simply having some time out, is a way of telling yourself that you are worth it, that you do deserve something just for you. You are not a slave to your job or your children, you are a person in your own right. This is so important because you need this sort of confidence to make the right decision for everyone concerned.
Exercise
If you do not have a regular exercise regime, then you need to start one. It can be as small as a twenty-minute walk a day, or a 10-mile jog three times a week, whatever suits your ability level. Exercise has so many benefits and not just to your physical health. First, it is a great way to keep those extra pounds off; it tones you up, and gets rid of those stubborn flabby bits. It can make your skin glow and appear more youthful – if you get a red fae while exercising. It is a way of eliminating harmful toxins from the body and even combating a lot of illnesses, including some cancers. Exercise gives you a lot more energy too. This can be great for people who have busy careers as well as children; you are going to need all the energy you can get, and sorry, but coffee and energy drinks are just not going to cut it for a long-term lack of energy solution. Exercise is also a great way of eliminating stress; it reduces the amount of cortisol from the body – the stress hormone. Exercise can also give you a sense of elation. It can increase your happiness levels and even reduce the amount of pain you feel. If you have some form of chronic pain, then using exercise is some form – pilates and stretching is generally good for this – is a must and beats overdosing on painkillers all the time. Another great side effect of exercise is that it clears the brain. A repetitive exercise like jogging or the rowing machine can give you space to think too. Sometimes your best ideas come to you while getting a sweat on. Exercise is one of the best ways to be good to yourself for all the amazing effects it has on your body.
You Are What You Eat
If you don’t already know, your diet is a huge factor n your health and well-being. If you are filling up on sweets, fatty foods, fast food, oven or microwave dishes, etc., then you are really not being good to yourself. You need to cut down on all the rubbish. That is not to say eliminate it all from your diet – which may actually be detrimental to your progress. This is due to the fact that you are denying yourself all the fun things that you love, and doing this can cause you to lose motivation. What to need to do is start making much better choices at the supermarket. If you can buy a lot more fruit and vegetables and out back most of the bad, you are on the right track. Keep that donut for a special treat on Saturday night – do not have cakes every day as if they were a staple. If you do this, you will enjoy the treat more and lose weight, and look and feel a lot better in the process.
Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness techniques are a great way of taking care of yourself. If you do not know what mindfulness is, then it is about developing more awareness of the present moment. We live in the present moment, but so many of us are not really present. We are either regretting something about the past, or wishing we were back there, or we are worrying about some future outcome that may or may not become a reality. This is clearly no ideal, and people who do this have not trained their brains; they are, in essence, not in control of their minds. Mindfulness is about teaching ourselves to worry less and forget the past. It is a way of being more peaceful and accepting. A great mindfulness technique is to take a walk in nature. When you are out, notice the trees, animals, plants, everything; forget everything else and just feel and observe. As this is not always practical, especially if you live in the city, you can try meditation instead. Meditation is one of the best ways to practice mindfulness. All you need is a quiet room and around ten minutes. Just close your eyes, and sit silently, breathing in and out. Concentrate on your breathing and nothing else. Don’t fight the thoughts that will emerge; let them go. If you fight, then you are going to lose. So, take control of your mind. Learning to be in control of what you think about is a fantastic way to take care of yourself.
Minimalism
Adopting a minimalist lifestyle could be just the ticket. Minimalism is not about going without the things you like in life; in fact, it is quite the opposite. It is about purging all the things in your life that no longer hold value, so you have more time and energy to focus on the things that actually matter. One of the first ways you can approach this lifestyle is to declutter your home, car, desk at work, and everything. Throw away all those reminders of the past that are holding you back from living your best life. Create more space in the home. You can then upgrade to purging all the toxic people in your life and all those toxic habits. Decluttering is a way of purifying your life, and this is essential to taking care of yourself.