Taking care of your body, mind, and soul is important because it helps you manage stress and prevent burnout. However, most people consider starting a self-care routine only after a burnout or having a doctor’s recommendation to take better care of yourself. Unfortunately, by the time this happens, it may have repercussions such as lifestyle diseases and hefty medical expenses. However, it doesn’t have to be so.
It is advisable to adopt self-care even if you’re not in the red yet. But I don’t have enough time, says every other person. You may have a busy schedule or have family responsibilities that make you put others’ needs before yours. You may think that you don’t have time to take care of yourself. But failing to do so is a grave mistake that may force you to slow down in the future when you get the doctor’s commands. You are just as worth taking care of as the other to-dos that fill up your day.
So, what is self-care, why is it important, and how do you start taking care of yourself if you have neglected yourself? This article shares the five pillars of self-care, why you should adopt a regular self-care routine, and how to build a routine that you will follow.
In This Article
What Is Self-care And Why Is It Important?
The concept of self-care is vague, making it one of the most misused words currently. Contrary to popular belief, self-care is not luxurious self-indulgence experiences such as spa dates or lying on the beach. It means caring for your physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health for sustainable health benefits.
It involves listening to your body, mind, and soul and giving it what it needs through self-awareness and self-control for your overall well-being. And it is not just about your physical health while neglecting your mental and emotional wellness. It is about being intentional with yourself and doing things that are aligned with your core beliefs and values, which make you happy without affecting your health.
Just because something feels good doesn’t qualify it as self-care. For example, laying on your couch all day bingeing on your favorite series may not cut it if it makes you eat unhealthy meals and reduces your daily movement. Self-care should bring positive outcomes and not feelings of guilt and help you become the best version of yourself. It is okay to watch your favorite series as long as it doesn’t interfere with a healthy routine.
So why should you start a self-care routine? Adopting a good self-care routine can improve the quality of life, reduce stress, and prevent burnout. Taking care of yourself prevents chronic diseases and helps you achieve optimal physical, emotional, and mental health.
Numerous research studies show that meditation, exercise, and yoga improve physical and mental health. Furthermore, taking care of yourself increases your productivity and helps you accomplish your personal and professional goals and take care of others.
What Are the Five Pillars of Self-Care?
Contrary to popular opinion, self-care is not limited to physical health. There are five important pillars of self-care: emotional, mental, physical, social, and spiritual. In order to have a balanced self-care routine, you need to incorporate all the pillars into your self-care plan. If you leave out one pillar, then the others weaken, so you need to implement all of them. Let’s look at the pillars of self-care.
1. Physical self-care
Taking care of your body is one of the most important pillars of self-care. It includes feeding your body with the proper diet, drinking adequate water, getting adequate sleep to rejuvenate your body, and doing regular physical activity. Going for a manicure, pedicure, or massage is okay within your means, but there are varied activities you can do that don’t cost money. Your physical self-care could look like this:
- Exercise for 30 minutes three times a week
- Get a massage once a week if possible
- Getting at least 7 hours of sleep every day
- Prepare healthy meals every day
Read these articles related to boosting your physical health:
- What are the 5 Benefits of Regular Exercise?
- Meal Prepping 101: How to Meal Prep for Weight Loss for Beginners
- 12 Healthy Foods You Should Always Have in Your Kitchen
2. Mental self-care
Taking care of your mental health includes activities to help improve your mindfulness, sharpen your mind, and adopt a healthy mindset. Some of the self-care activities include
- Self-reflection on your feelings, thoughts, and beliefs
- Journaling
- Taking a break
- Playing mind-training games
- Learning a skill or language
- Critical thinking.
3. Emotional self-care
Emotional self-care involves activities that help you relax, manage stress, and cope with daily challenges. These activities help manage your emotions and protect yourself from things that cause emotional instability. Some of the emotional self-care activities include:
- Listening to inspiring music
- Positive self-talk and affirmations
- Doing affirmations
- Watching your favorite movies
- Doing things that make you laugh
- Writing about what is making you sad and letting out a cry to release anger
- Playing with your children or pets
- Setting healthy boundaries and asking for help when you need it.
4. Social self-care
Humans are social beings and need support from other people. However, most of us experience hurt and maltreatment at least once in our lifetime from people around us.
Social self-care entails making valuable connections with others and establishing healthy boundaries. Some of the social self-care activities include meeting with friends, calling loved ones, and talking to a physical or online community when you’re stressed and need support.
5. Spiritual self-care
Taking care of your body and mind is not enough if you neglect your soul. That is why spiritual self-care is one of the most important pillars of self-care. Most people feel stuck if they don’t have a sense of meaning or purpose. You can take care of your spiritual nature by:
- Spending time in nature
- Watching the sunset or sunrise
- Writing in a gratitude journal
- Meditation
- Prayer
- Joining a cause that you value
- Attending a church service
- Reading or listening to inspirational songs or stories
How to Start a Self-care Routine
Now that you understand the benefits of a daily self-care routine let’s examine how to create a self-care routine step by step.
1. Identify activities that make you happy
The first step to building a good self-care routine is to choose activities that boost your physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social wellness. Write down self-care routine ideas or activities you like and choose those that make you feel centered. For example, we know how important physical activity is for your body, but maybe you prefer dancing to running or going to the gym.
Choose one that suits your routine and will be easy to do. For your mental health, you can choose reading, journaling, or listening to inspirational content, and for social health, you can decide to meet up with friends regularly.
Also Read: How Does Exercise Improve Mental Health? (9 Surprising Ways)
2. Start small
Changing a bad habit is not easy, so you don’t need to start doing all these activities simultaneously. Start by incorporating one habit at a time into your routine and blocking it in your calendar to ensure that you do it. For example, if you have been inactive for a long time, start with a 10-minute walk or workout and slowly build it up. You can also read just one chapter of a book daily.
When you make this habit successful for a week, increase the duration to challenge yourself. You don’t have to spend hours on self-care. Just dedicate 20 to 30 minutes every day and do it consistently.
Also Read: 10 Smart Health Goals Examples and Easy Steps to Achieve Them
3. Prioritize self-care
Sometimes, the work week may seem so busy that you struggle to find time to take care of yourself. You may find yourself working through lunch breaks and extending until the wee hours of the night. Some of the signs that you have been neglecting your health include feeling fatigued all day, trouble sleeping, feeling irritable, stomach upset, difficulty concentrating, feeling more anxious than usual, or becoming less interested in activities that previously made you happy.
The best way to prioritize self-care is to treat your self-care routine like an important appointment with your boss. So, if you know you need to exercise for 30 minutes three times a week, then block them in your calendar and make it non-negotiable. Committing to yourself is just as important as going to work. Your body is the vehicle you need to take you to work; if you don’t take care of it one day, it may crash.
Also Read: How to Make Time for Exercise with a Busy Schedule (9 Easy Tips)
4. Reward yourself
It becomes easy for habits to stick when they are rewarded. So, you should reward yourself whenever you achieve a goal to boost your motivation. If you skip a day, don’t punish yourself since guilt makes it harder to achieve goals. Instead, reinforce the good habits and promise yourself a reward when you achieve your goal. Every week, reflect on how the activities made you feel and write progress in a journal.
5. Get an accountability partner
Before a habit becomes a lifestyle, it may take time. Expect some bumps along the way because your brain likes familiarity, and it may make it harder for you to stick through a challenging task like exercise because it resists change that could harm you.
Find an accountability parent to keep challenging you and keep you in check to achieve your goal. Find like-minded people who want to improve their self-care habits so that you can do it together. This could be your partner, a friend, or your kids. Whatever works for you.
Also Read: How to Hack Your Brain to Make Healthy Habits Stick: 10 Healthy Habits for A Better You
6. Be patient
You will encounter barriers to your daily self-care routine because you are trying to change your normal routine. Some days, you will struggle to get out of bed to exercise, or you may still be tempted to binge-watch until dawn and struggle to work the next day. Remember that a journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.
Prioritize your self-care even if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Going for a 5-minute walk is better than giving up altogether when you’re under the weather. You’ll notice if you take a few minutes to care for yourself even if you’re feeling. Overwhelmed will make you feel happier.
FAQs
- Can going to the gym help with self-care routine?
Exercise is a powerful form of self-care because it strengthens your body, improves brain performance, and boosts your mood. Although going to the gym does not feature on most people’s self-care list, it should top the list. However, you don’t have to spend hours in the gym. Instead, do any physical activity you love, such as aerobics, dancing, or running, at least three times a week.
- What is the perfect self-care routine?
The perfect self-care routine should include making time for daily movement, eating healthy meals, getting adequate sleep, daily prayer and meditation, listening to inspiring content, and spending time in nature.
- What do girls do on self-care days?
On self-care days, most women go for a massage, manicure, and pedicure or have a bubble bath. However, activities such as exercise, healthy eating, getting enough sleep, meditation, and reading should also feature in a healthy self-care routine.
- How do I improve myself as a lady?
The best way to improve yourself as a lady is to care for your body, mind, and soul. You can do that by prioritizing daily physical activity, doing regular self-reflection, learning to regulate your emotions, and reading books to enhance your knowledge.
- How to stay healthy as a woman?
Improve your health as a woman by adopting daily physical activity, prioritizing healthy eating, getting adequate sleep every day, listening to inspiring podcasts, and starting a gratitude journal.
Final Thoughts
Self-care is not selfish. It is taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others. Prioritize a good self-care routine and make it a non-negotiable part of your day to improve your overall well-being. Practicing self-care does not need to take too much of your time. Start small with short durations and build the practices up until you become the best version of yourself.
Did you find you were missing many of these? Do you need help implementing more self-care into your life? I can help! Book a one-on-one consultation to tell me all about it.
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