Giving love, time and attention is a wonderful thing. To be honest, in my opinion the happiest people in the world are those giving more, not those receiving more. But what happens when all you do is give out so much, and you forget about yourself? Often we forget to check in with ourselves too often even in the slightest ways you can't imagine. For example: being a star employee who works excessively hard to impress your boss, but forgets to eat, take 5 minutes to breathe or simply relax. There's nothing selfish about putting yourself first, especially when it comes to relationships. Relationships rely on solid communication, trust and of course a balance between giving and taking. Taking care of yourself does not have to mean going to luxurious spa or spending a lot of money to make yourself feel good. I wanted to focus this article on really loving yourself, making yourself center and protecting your sacred spaces. Self-care and self-love should include saying no to appointments you don't really want to go to, but you go anyway because you "don't want to disappoint anyone". In fact, self-care is the last thing we think of when we are in relationships; relationships with friends, colleagues, romantic partners, family members and so on. So how do you maintain a healthy and happy you, by taking care of yourself while taking care of others?
YOU CANNOT DRINK FROM AN EMPTY CUP From experience, it took me a while to really understand this fundamental question. With time you will realize that society creates this frame or idea of what we should and should not do; what are the things that make you a good person or selfish person. We live in a state of mind that does not allow us to focus on ourselves for a while and to just stop and reflect. Self-care for me had to start with taking a few minutes out of my day to just be by myself. Sometimes this means just not doing anything including not using your phone, being busy with any kind of work, just breathe. It is extremely important for you to make yourself so important and take care of yourself as if you are the most important person in the world. Because how else would you be able to take care of other people and have relationships if you are not able to take care and have a relationship with yourself? How many of us really know what are the things that we like? For example, are you able to answer what is your favorite color? what is your biggest fear? what are your most fond memories of your 20s? Our focus is often so much on other things and other people that we forget how important it is to know ourselves on a deeper level. A relationship with yourself means being able to have conversations with yourself, being okay with silence, finding acceptance within, and most importantly being comfortable with uncertainty. KEEP WHAT'S SACRED TO YOU, SACRED AND YOURS ONLY For many of us, we have a special thing or place that instantly lights up your mood. For example a special place by the beach, a tree in the park, your journal, your bedroom or even your own body. When we become connected with people on an emotional level, we want to be able to give and share all those things that we love and makes us happy with them. Throughout the course of your lifetime you will learn that everything is uncertain and that we live in an uncertainty meaning that things sometimes end or do not go the way we planned. Imagine your bedroom being your safe haven and happy place where you bring someone who you feel a special connection with and one day for some reason you don't share that connection anymore. Suddenly your safe haven gets a bitter taste to it. With this example, I wanted to share why it is important for you to be okay with keeping some things for yourself. It is okay if you do not share every secret, memory, place, or even your body with someone. Taking care of yourself means taking care of your heart, your spirit and your soul on every level possible. SELF CARE GUIDE 1. Take at least 10 to 15-minutes a day to meditate preferably as soon as you wake up.Do not let your phone be the first thing you see in the morning when you wake up. 2. Journal your thoughts and feelings. 3. Turn off your phones at dinners, lunches and on the weekends and make use of that time to connect with yourself. 4. Read books that inspire you, read at least 1 book a week. 5. Learn the art of forgiveness. Forgiving others and forgiving yourself comes a long way when it comes to self-care. 6. Do something nice for yourself every day: do your nails, hair, make a nice lunch for yourself, decorate your room, put on music when you shower, treat yourself. 7. Say no without feeling guilt. Have conversations about things that you do not like, or what is your opinion on certain things or topics. 8. Talk with a counselor, advisor or friend and just vent out or write down things you want to get off your chest. As someone who loves to give and take care of everyone around me, I had to learn to take self-care more seriously because when you don't take care of yourself you will eventually experience a feeling of emptiness, depression, anxiety, anger and all kind of negative emotions after the fact. As humans we were built to give, but also to receive and sometimes receiving has to come from ourselves instead of expecting someone else to do that for us. Today, give yourself a break and acknowledge all that you do without feeling guilt. Make yourself a priority and remember to keep your special places sacred; keep them for you because that is self-care and self-love.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Hi, thanks for stopping by.
My name is Keyla and I am a second year university student studying social work. I blog about social media, lifestyle, health, beauty, love, relationships, career and student life-hacks. Leave a comment and give my articles a ❤️ or 👍🏻 and don't forget to share to show your support. 😘, Keyla Publication Dates
March 2018
Topics
All
|