Are you at the bottom of your priority list? Is it a lot easier to care for everyone else but yourself? If that’s you, why is that? Why do we treat strangers better than the people we love most including ourselves? At the end of the day, the “why” doesn’t matter so much. We could spend our lives trying to figure out why. What really matters is changing our ways and taking better care of ourselves. Doing so is a lot more selfless than you think!
With years of habit and conditioning, it’s easy to forget to care for yourself, to put yourself last. Maybe we think that we’d appear arrogant or self-absorbed if we made our needs a priority and took great care of ourselves. That is so far from the truth! How about dusting off your dreams, showing self-love by self-care, and doing what all financial advisers tell you to do: pay yourself first?!
When you actively care for yourself, you will be able to do so much more for others. That is why self-love and self-care are not selfish acts but quite selfless. How can you give what you don’t have? So love yourself! Be true to yourself. Care for yourself. This is not something that happens over night. It’s probably something you will have to work on regularly, maybe even for life. I know I will!
How to Care for Yourself – 10 Tips:
Here are some ways that you can love and care for yourself.
- Do what you love whether professionally or personally or both.
- Stand up for what you believe in.
- Be kind and patient with yourself.
- Don’t beat yourself up – Learn to forgive yourself and others.
- Reward yourself – Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.
- Be aware of your chatterbox. If the self-talk is negative, turn it into something positive.
- Don’t judge yourself or others.
- Know that it’s ok and actually good to say no sometimes.
- Carve out me-time – You can do this on all levels – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Maybe you want to read, take a bath, go for a walk on the beach, exercise…
- Be grateful – For more on gratitude, check out my blog on gratitude.
What can you do today for yourself? You can start adding one thing a day. Enjoy the process. It’s fun and so rewarding! If you’re like me and love to read, here are some books that really helped me change my outlook and therefore change my life:
Resources:
- Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers
- The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
I always love reading about self care and the importance of taking care of ourselves and standing up for ourselves. You might enjoy http://www.facebook.com/BeBoldlyBrilliant Starting in September they will begin again the 21 Day Self-Care, Sensation Celebration Challenge.
Oh very cool. Thanks for sharing the 21 day challenge. I am all over it! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I need to implement these self-care tips right away 🙂
What great reminders. It is so important that we take care of ourselves and indulge in a little “me-time” so that we can be our very best for those who depend on us! Loved it!