The world nowadays is moving at such a fast tempo that it gets quite a handful to keep pace with it. Whether you’re a high school student or a stay-at-home mom or dad, a university student or an employee, there’s a highly likely chance that you have an extremely hectic routine. Everyone is so alienated by this constant rush to just stay work-oriented, partially due to the extremely competitive environment, that no one finds even this much time to stand in front of the mirror and say, “Hey, I look good today!”
If that’s your case too, you’ve landed just at the right place because today, we will emphasize the importance of self-care and give you some tips that will help you nurture yourself with kindness more regularly.
What is Self-Care?
Some people often confuse self-care with a selfish attitude or self-indulgence, so it is important to define the word before we get to its benefits and tips on how to practice it.
Simply put, self-care means taking care of yourself, whether it’s physically, emotionally, or spiritually. In rather broad terms, it means taking time to consciously and actively do things that preserve your mental health and improve your physical well-being. It can be anything that helps relax your body and alleviates your mood.
Take, for instance, your relationship with anyone that you dearly and deeply cherish. It could be your significant other, best friend, sibling, or parent. Whenever you’re with them, especially when they feel low, you want to nurture them with kindness and do what they love. In the same way, nurturing YOURSELF with kindness, especially when you feel low, is the embodiment of self-care.
The main difference between self-care and self-indulgence or a selfish attitude is that self-care doesn’t come at the cost of someone else’s physical health or mental state. If you’re damaging, hurting, or degrading someone else with the intention to do so, it won’t count as self-care.
Why is it Important to Practice Self-Care?
Self-care has numerous benefits that can significantly improve your quality of life, including:
- Reduces stress: There are a lot of surveys to prove that self-care is one of the best remedies to deal with anxiety, depression, and stress. People who started on a self-care regime felt less stressed, were happier, had stronger relationships, and were able to combat and recover from setbacks way better than they used to earlier.
- Strengthens your immune system: Relaxing, and knowing when to do so, is a pivotal part of your self-care regime and gives your immune system a huge boost. Exercising regularly and having a nutritious diet plan stabilizes your immune system and makes you less prone to infections.
- Increases motivation: When you regularly practice self-care, your life becomes quite enjoyable. The job that used to be boring becomes more amusing, or the degree that felt too dry becomes more entertaining. Not only do you start to gain more interest in what you do, but you’re also able to plan your tasks better and perform them efficiently and confidently.
- Helps you love yourself: The most important benefit of self-care is #BecomingFlawesome, which means that even with your flaws, you’re awesome. When you start taking care of yourself and go out of the way to do things for yourself, you develop a sense of self-love and start liking yourself, both directly and indirectly, which, according to Kristina Mand-Lakhiani’s “Becoming Flawesome” book , is the cornerstone for #BecomingFlawesome.
How Do You Start Practicing Self-Care?
Self-care isn’t just a single habit but incorporating everything that allows you to care for your physical and emotional self. Some self-help books would make you believe that self-care is all about redirecting your mindset to positivity. Meanwhile, gym ads would make you think self-care means regular exercise and good nutrition.
While all that is true, it isn’t a single aspect only that helps you accomplish self-care. Instead, you’ll need to incorporate various habits, like exercise, nutrition, being grateful and kind to yourself, avoiding negative thoughts, engaging in activities you enjoy, and a lot more! Try adding these habits to your routine one by one.
Conclusion
Although practicing self-care is not a new concept, its requirement in modern-day life has become way more than it can be expressed. No matter where you are or how hectic your routine is, make sure you take the right steps, even if they are small, to ensure self-care for a better, healthier, and happier life.