When our lives are in crisis, it can be challenging to keep our heads above water. We are struggling to keep up with work, family, and other commitments, and we can lose track of ourselves in all of the chaos. Prioritizing our own needs gets pushed to the bottom of our thoughts, which is the opposite of what is actually needed most. Self-care is key to finding and achieving balance in our lives, but can be difficult to start if we have never practiced it before. How can we implement self-care in our lives?
Developing Self Worth
One of the biggest reasons that we fail to take care of our needs and practice self-care is that we do not value ourselves. We fail to see our own worth and perhaps we try to take care of everyone else instead. The trouble with that theory is that we do not have the ability to take care of others well unless we are taking good care of ourselves.
First we must learn to recognize our own worth. Even if that means finding just one thing that we like about ourselves at first. We can acknowledge that one thing until we find two, then three, and then more things about ourselves that give us worth. Once we begin to realize our own worth, then we are more likely to prioritize taking care of ourselves.
Learning to Care for Our Health
Self-care is making choices to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health on a regular basis. We identify the things that will bring us health and happiness on each level, and then we add them to our daily routine.
Examples could be something as simple as a regular bedtime routine for our mental health. Or picking up a hobby, such as reading or painting, for our emotional health. We might cook healthy meals at least three nights per week instead of eating takeout to improve our physical health. These are just a couple of examples. Obviously, we would want to choose activities that best promote our own health and well-being.
By taking time for ourselves every single day and prioritizing our own needs ahead of everything else, we do not become selfish. We become healthy, well, and more effective in our lives. We demonstrate to ourselves that we are worth taking the time and making the effort to be mentally, emotionally, and physically well.
Being Deliberate
Self-care is not simply looking back on our day and thinking about something we may have done that could be considered a positive activity for ourselves. Self-care is deliberate, making the time and choosing something that will bring fulfillment and wellness specifically for us.
It could be making time to read news in the morning before breakfast, which requires getting up a few minutes earlier and scheduling our morning routine accordingly. Perhaps it is taking that yoga class that we have always wanted to, which requires scheduling and effort to get to class each time.
Or maybe it is spending 30 minutes per day in the garden, because we enjoy it and it is relaxing, but we have to find that time in our schedule and plan to have the materials and tools we will need. We can make our own plans, but the thing that all of these examples have in common is that they are deliberate. We are planning time and choosing activities that will bless our lives and our overall health.
Prioritizing Ourselves
One of the universal traits of every act of self-care is that we learn to prioritize ourselves. Not in a selfish way, but rather in a self-love way. This is practicing compassion with ourselves, establishing our self worth with ourselves, and also demonstrating that worth to others by making our wellness a priority. Not only do we establish more value with ourselves, but we establish that we are valued with other people. We may even find that others demonstrate more respect for us as we learn to demonstrate more respect for ourselves.
Following Through
Implementing self-care in our lives only works when we follow through with our plan. This time that we plan for ourselves is not negotiable. That means that if there is a show that comes on television or a friend calls us or we want to take a nap, we still follow through with our self-care plans. Establishing self-worth and making self-care plans only to bail on ourselves and do something else is the opposite of health, wellness, and respect. Following through is the most important step in self-care.
Becoming More Effective
Taking small amounts of time from our days, even if we are very busy – especially if we are very busy – actually makes us more productive for the other 23 plus hours of the day. In math, self-care does not add up. But in life, self-care is like adding time, energy, and happiness to our day, even if we are taking time to make that happen. When we implement self-care into our daily routines, we become more effective in life.
At Rancho Milagro Recovery, we believe in implementing self-care as a form of healing and wellness. Call us at (951) 526-4582 so we can help you learn how to implement self-care in your own life. Your wellness is our highest priority, and self-care will help establish and maintain mental, physical, and emotional wellness.