3 Ways to Invite Self-Care
We are so used to doing everything on go. The need to be on our grind is killing our ability to slow down and tap into self-care. We know that its important but it’s no longer about what we should do but when. Time is not on our side. There is no more unlimited amount of time that will guide you to a later date to practice a form of self-care.
Self-care in 4th quarter
Self-care is the art of putting yourself first. It’s filing your own cup. Putting the mask on yourself first. Yet with that knowledge we still don’t honor ourselves to stop. So now what? We are in 4th quarter and the holiday rush will continue to plague the need to get, buy, and do. What is your plan of action?
If you are like me, you have a to do list that is remanent of a CVS receipt. Your cup is begging to be full, but you may be with limited resources and more. I encourage you to shop at your home. Yes, we have resources in our home that is vital for selfcare. For instance, if I never got another journal or face mask etc I would be just fine. Yet that’s one of the easiest things that people who know I am a self-care lover will grab.
Use what you have or limit the need to over buy
Shopping at my home means using those same products instead of getting more. Investing in setting an hour to take an everything showers or long bath while adding in some Epsom salt. You have more than you think. What if you aren’t a Selfcare Queen like me? Then we are going to grab those self-care items from the Dollar Store. The Dollar Store is no longer the faithful dollar it used to be but for under $10 you really could have a week or more of great relaxation.
Outside the Box items
Selfcare are now the words that marketers have caught on. They recognize that if you slap self-care on it people will invest. So here is my list of self-care items that step out of the box of a massage, facial, or more.
- Tea kettle for a quiet sip and quiet moment
- Filtered shower head
- Dry brush to exfoliate skin
- Noise cancelling headphones-set a time for 30 min-1 hour for me time
- Loungewear-nothing like a shower or bath and a cute loungewear set
- Book-reading is a choice, and it adds in me time automatically
- Slow cooker-making a meal ahead of time is self-care
- Yoga mat or foam roller
- Throw blanket curl up and set yourself up for a little mindless tv watching
- Puzzles, crosswords and more
Not enough time bandits
The biggest reason we complain about not having enough time is because we allow a lot of little things to take our time. One of the biggest things that we do to steal our time comes from our phone. As a content creator I need that device. It is a professional camera, marketing agent, and so much more. However, like everyone else if I am not careful there are times when I find that I can scroll for hours. Telling myself that I will get off it in an hour. Sometimes I honor it and often I don’t.
The boundary I placed is making real life device scaling. Meaning setting a time to come off my phone. This is helpful for self-care. All that information that we are absorbing isn’t as good as we think. Stop the scroll and take that time to invest back into yourself. You have the time you aren’t being clear in how you are using it.
Invitation to Selfcare
Yes, the same way that you place your son’s sports practice on your calendar do the same for self-care. Honor your time. Do not allow anything that is not an emergency to take over the time you set. I used to hate when I was in couples therapy that planning adult time would seem less appealing. The issue is that setting it on the calendar as you would your selfcare doesn’t take away the desire or need. It’s the opposite. You are now making it a priority. That is the takeaway not the means. Invite yourself to a moment to make it happen.
Bring back the fun in life
Life happens to all of us. There are times that fun can’t erase real life tragedies or circumstances. No matter how much fun you want to add into your life if your mortgage is due and no money coming in where fun won’t absolve the stress. However, there are times when we simply don’t allow joyful moments into our world to be a priority. So, day in and out we focus on what needs to be done and less on what we can do to keep our sanity a priority. You need softer landing places. Money can fix a lot of issues, but I know folks with money who are miserable.
Don’t allow yourself to be overtaken in life. Make space for you, your self-care, and more. You are worthy of creating the joy
you need to make this life not just exist. Which of the 3 ways in which you need to step up your self-care resonates with you? Lean into that and make it happen.
