Love Yourself More: 5 Self-Care Practices to Live By
Are you the type of person who puts others first before themselves?
Do you give without expecting in return?
Have you ever felt the need to sacrifice your own happiness just to please other people?
There’s no doubt that you have a big heart. But don’t just be good to others, be good to yourself too. You don’t need to be everything to everyone because you can only give what you only have.
Self-care is a form of self-love. Taking care of your physical and mental health is a way of showing kindness to yourself. That’s why we’ve always been reminding everyone about the importance of doing something for yourself every single day.
In case you need some more tips, here are five self-care practices for you to live by:
1. Know your worth
Sometimes the reason why you keep asking for somebody else’s advice is because you don’t trust yourself enough to handle major decisions in life.
Knowing your worth allows you to be more confident, and you’ll learn to trust yourself more. This way, you’ll stop doubting yourself, which can lead you to bigger opportunities in life and realizing your true purpose.
Once you fall in love with yourself, work towards your goals and achieve them with confidence and grace.
2. Establish a healthy work-life balance
There’s a time for work and there’s also a time for pleasure. But the problem is, people are often hesitant to relax because they think there are plenty of things left undone that they don’t have the right to enjoy some free time.
The truth is, you don’t really have time to do everything at once. But if you want it to, you can make it.
Establishing a healthy work-life balance prevents you from experiencing burnout. It allows you to enjoy life while being productive at the same time. You’re not just born to pay bills, you’re born to live life. The key to a happy and healthy life is balance. And here are two tips to achieve it:
- Simplify your schedule. Make it a habit to use apps or planners that will help you monitor and organize your schedule. This way, you can schedule your me-time and social life without missing important tasks.
- Unplug for a day. Now that you’ve allotted your social and me-time, it’s time to turn off your phone for at least a couple of hours and create moments with the people you care about. Distance yourself from anything that triggers worry or anxiety if you keep looking at your phone, emails, and social media feed.
A day away from work won’t do any harm. In fact, even successful people and business tycoons go on vacation, doing nothing but just relaxing. You deserve this kind of pleasure too!
3. Learn to de-stress
Stress will always find its way to you, that’s a fact. But don’t worry because there are countless ways to manage your stress. The choice is yours as to what you should do because you know yourself better than anyone else.
Ask yourself, “what would really make me happy today?”
Want to buy something that you’ve been thinking about lately? If you have the resources, go buy it.
Want to eat something? Go eat it. If you’ve indulged in too much junk food though, just make sure you cleanse your gut afterwards, burn those calories, and drink plenty of water to flush out the toxins in your body.
There’s nothing wrong with de-stressing as long as the activity won’t harm your mental and/or physical health. Every action has consequences, so be a responsible adult.
4. Work on having stronger physical and mental health
Physical and mental health must always go together. You cannot expect a healthy physical body with poor mental health and vice versa. Here are ways to strengthen both aspects of your being:
- Embrace the beauty of simple living. Life is full of challenges and pressures. Simple living delivers health benefits that can boost your mental health, and help you become happier with what you already have.
- Do each activity mindfully and slowly. Even if you’re too preoccupied and there are so many deadlines left undone, there’s no need to run and rush. Respecting your mental health is also respecting your physical health. So try to relax, breathe, and do each activity slowly and carefully. You don’t always need to figure out everything all at once.
- Practice the act of gratitude. People don’t realize how blessed they are until they lose something. And you don’t need to reach that point before you realize that you already have everything in this world to make you happy. Waking up each morning is already a blessing. And I’m sure that’s not all you have to be thankful for.
If you have a stressful job, remember that not all people are blessed with the opportunity you have to make ends meet.
If you’re stressed doing household chores, remember that you have a house to live in, when less fortunate people don’t have any.
If your child is interrupting your sleep, remember that not all people are blessed to have children.
If your spouse did something that disappointed you, remember that not all people are given partners in life.
If you and your siblings fight a lot, remember that some people wish to have siblings to play with.
And if your parents scold you all the time, remember that not all people are still living with their parents.
Have a gratitude list to remind yourself of how blessed you are.
- Give yourself the rest you deserve. One of the best ways to achieve a healthier mind and body is to have adequate sleep and rest. Having both allows your mind and body to recharge, so you’ll feel refreshed and alert each time you wake up.
Without enough sleep, your body and mind will have a hard time functioning properly. Got trouble catching some zzzs? Find here some tips to naturally get a good night’s sleep.
5. Nurture your most valuable relationships
Huge responsibilities shouldn’t hinder you from enjoying life. And insufficient money is never a reason for you to feel less successful than other people. Look at the bigger picture and ask yourself, why do you exist in this world?
In case you’ve forgotten, many people care for you and are just waiting for you to connect and bond with them. Maybe your family wants to spend more quality time with you, but you’ve always been busy.
You’re so focused on chasing your dreams that you may have forgotten the reason why you’re even doing it in the first place, and who you’re doing it for?
Relationships should always come first before money and material things. And this is the reason you exist - you are meant to connect, to be with people, to nurture relationships.
So spend as much quality time with the people you value the most. I dare you to stop what you’re doing right now and hug your spouse, your child, or your parents - whoever is around you now.. You can also call someone you miss talking to.
Watch how these small gestures can eventually boost your mood and make someone happy.
Your daily self-care reminder to live by:
“Chase what you want. Do not give your all to everyone and save some for yourself. Because how you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.”
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