“Self Care is giving the world the best of you and not what’s left of you”
If I am being completely honest, I never understood nor knew what self care was. My definition of self care was making sure my hair and nails was done. I always took time to nourish my outer appearance, but never my inner. Once I became a mother I quickly realize taking care of myself internally mattered far more than the “trendiest hairstyle.” Don’t get me wrong making sure your physical well is just as important, but that’s only one part of self care. The other parts of Self Care includes your mental and emotional well being. I didn’t realize it until I became so overwhelmed with life. I woke up everyday and felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. It was dragging me down and I hated feeling that way. I also got so tired of neglecting myself. I would walk around the house like “A chicken with its head cut off,” a horrible sight to see, LOL! After feeling that way for so long, I finally woke up one day and made the decision to cater to myself again. I decided it was time for me to make myself a priority again. It was time for me to practice self care and start nourishing and loving myself again, and here’s five tips on how I did it.
Set A Specific Day(s)During The Week For Self Care
If you want to make self care apart of your daily life, then you need to actually make room for it. Start by choosing one day out the week at a specific time and gradually add more days if need be. I like to at least take two days out the week for myself. You can also choose to take a hour or more out of each day and use that time to practice self care if that is an option. All and all you want to make sure you are setting aside time each week for self care. Choosing to do self care once a week and not the next is not going to suffice.
Be Intentional About Practicing Self Care
Self care is not an option it’s a necessity. As soon as I was able to understand that, self care became a top priority for me. If you want to implement self care into your life, then you have to be intentional about doing it. Everything starts in the mind before manifesting into your physical world. Start by telling yourself, “on this day at this time, I am going to commit to taking time out my day for self care.” When you constantly tell yourself something over and over it becomes ingrained in your mind instead of a distant memory. Remember self care is a priority not an option. We all need time to spend with ourselves.
Don’t Make Any Excuses
If excuses isn’t my middle name. I had all the excuses in the book on why I couldn’t practice self care.
- I didn’t have enough time in the day
- I don’t need to practice self care
- I’m fine without self care
Needless to say that was neither healthy or good for my mental health. Everyday I decided not to carve out time for myself I was slowly becoming a walking zombie(LOL!) I just felt so overwhelmed and tired all the time. I am a SAHM of four so naturally I thought motherhood was the reason for my everlasting tiredness, and to some extent it was. But it was also due to not practicing self care. Self care is more than just nourishing your physical well being, it also involves your mental and emotional well being. This is why self care is a necessity for everyone. Practicing self care creates a balance in your life. It brings you peace and joy because your able to spend time alone doing things that you love and that makes you smile inside and out. 2022 let’s all leave our excuses in the past and start by making the decision to practice self care.
Don’t Feel Guilty
I use to feel guilty all the time about wanting time to myself. I felt like it was selfish of me to want to get away from my family. However, the more I felt guilty about taking care of myself the more I begin neglecting myself. I had to learn that self care doesn’t mean I’m running away from my family or problems(if any.) Self care was about me working on myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. If I wanted to be the glue that holds my family together then I needed to start taking care of me. I needed to start making myself a priority again. I needed to spend time alone with myself. As a mother and woman I had to learn I “cannot pour from an empty cup.” I can’t be everything for everyone if I’m not being anything to myself. There is no reason to feel guilty about taking time for yourself. Alone time is a necessity for everyone and shouldn’t be seen as something bad. If you have been feeling guilty about taking time for yourself, “DON’T!” Always be sure you are taking care of you because after all “You cannot pour from an empty cup!”
Nourish All Parts of Self Care (Physical, Mental, & Emotional)
If you want to make something a habit, then you have to start by doing it. Self care is more than nourishing your physically well being, it also involves your mental and emotional state. When I begin practicing self care I thought it was all about my outer appearance. I wanted to do everything to make my outer appearance more appealing. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with taking care of your physical self, but that’s not all that self care is. Even after fixing my hair, putting on decent clothes, etc. I still felt like something was missing and that was my mental and emotional well being. I wasn’t doing anything to improve my mental/ emotional health and because of that self care became an on and off thing for me. As soon as I understood more of what self care was, I begin to work towards improving my mental and emotional well being. I also learned to practice multiple things when it came to self care. I don’t just have to take a bubble bath and apply facial masks, but I can also read a self help book, talk with God, meditate, and so much more. It doesn’t matter what you do when your alone as long as it involves nourishing your self physically, emotionally, and mentally that’s “Self Care.”
In Conclusion
- Self care should be a priority and not an option.
- Self care is not selfish.
- Self care involves taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional well being.
- Self care is necessary for your mind, body, and soul.
- Don’t feel guilty about wanting time alone, we all deserve to spend time nourishing and loving on ourselves.
Want to see how I practice Self Care at home? Watch My Self Care Pamper Routine Below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBgntVwisAE
#selfcare #howtopracticeselfcare #takecareofyou #selfcareroutine #loveyourself #treatyourselfgood #practiceselfcare #physicalwellbeing #mentalhealth #emotionalwellbeing #sahmselfcareroutine #selfcareformoms #selfcareforwomen #briaalbertco #lifestyleblog #motherhoodblog #sahmblogger #sahm
