Few months ago I wrote a blogpost translating self care into my daily life and this made me reflect on my daily routines even more and create a self-care journal that can help you step up your self care game.
Self-care has been defined as the process of taking care of oneself with behaviors that promote health and active management of self related issues when they occur. We all engage in some form of self-care daily with our food choices, exercise, amount of sleep we get.
I am sure you hear the term all the time and I believe that if you read this blog you want to do it even better.
Let me then walk you through my thought process and actions related to self-care.
“Self-care, self-care, self-care." I am a life coach, I preach it. But do I do it? 🤔
I certainly do it better than I used to. Am I doing it perfectly? Not yet. I am on my way there!
I used to work 14 hours per day, 7 out of 7, no break, no rest, no sleep. This on top of full time education for years. Exhaustion and lack of self care, deep rooted in my system.
What do I do now?
I still work a lot and I recognize that. I catch myself finding comfort in long work hours, because I see that I am moving forward, I am growing, I earn more, I learn more, I challenge my mind more. I like it.
I got to ask though, where does Sofia fit in all that? I’ve realized the hard way, when anxiety and overwork started affecting me, that this is not the way forward. I have decided since to do things differently and I know I have improved in self-care.
How do I know that?
I am looking at the small things. I am looking at my daily life, the small acts for myself, my happiness levels, my energy, my patterns of behavior.
Let me take you a step back and explain how I approach self-care. Self care by definition means taking care of oneself, taking care of you. You are your body, your mind, your emotions, your feelings, your thoughts, your soul, your spirit… I can keep going on.
You are so many things. Self-care means you are taking care of all these things. Equally and with the same love. Uff, I know it is not as easy as it sounds. But let’s break it down to daily life and actions.
This is my personal self-coaching practice for my life. I ask myself all the time questions that help me become aware of my situation and decide to course correct if needed.
Do I need help?
Do I ask for help enough?
What is blocking me from asking for help?
Am I putting myself first?
Am I communicating my needs?
Do I forgive myself often enough?
Am I taking steps back?
Did I say no where I needed to this week?
How well am I setting boundaries?
Did I have enough time?
An easy way to check my needs is asking the below question.
What does my body need now?
What does my mind need now?
What does my heart need right now?
I change the word in bold with what needs my care & attention
One of my best friends now, is my self-care journal. I add things in there that are just for me:
- I take myself to dinners.
- I buy myself flowers.
- I say no more often.
- I set boundaries.
- I recognize when I am doing too much.
I am writing this from Mexico, because winters in Amsterdam make me work too much without feeding my soul. Checking on my self-care, I made a decision to change my environment and escape winter. I knew that sun makes me happy, and that morning meditation by the beach is my way of self-care.
Here I am, knowing that I am the first & the best person to take care of me!
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Footnote: This blogpost captures my thoughts in raw format as published for the Gals with the Pearl newsletter February 2022
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