Self-Care Sunday: What’s Worked For Me

Photo Credit: Anita George 

It’s a new year, but that’s not the only reason I’m writing about self-care.

It’d be all too easy to just say that remembering to take care of myself (especially spiritually/emotionally) was just another one of my new year’s resolutions. But that’s only half-true.

Self-care is not a new goal for me. I’ve actively been working on it for at least a year now. And for 2016, my goal is to continue to carve out time for myself, with activities that allow me to rest, refocus and work towards my happiness, regardless of how hectic my schedule is.

And it’s also a topic that I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Especially as it relates to maintaining a sense of balance. 

Balance, I’ve found, is a tricky thing to master but it’s crucial to the success of most parts of my life. Constantly spreading myself thin, as I have been known to do, doesn’t really help anyone, least of all myself. It just leaves me tired and cranky/sad and everyone else around me cranky/sad.

But the process of gradually working towards balance- learning to pull back a bit and set boundaries to allow for time to take care of myself- while incredibly difficult at first, is so far proving to be rewarding in the long run:  my health improved a bit and I am better able to take on my responsibilities and other challenges I wouldn’t have thought possible in the past.

Balance (and self-care) is how I was able to bring this blog back.

To me, self-care is any activity that allows me to do just that: take care of myself. That said, those activities are going to be different for everyone.

The following is a list of self-care activities that have worked for me:

1. Yoga
2. Guided Meditation
3. Getting a massage
4. Making and posting #operationbeautiful notes
5. Creating a relaxing morning ritual (It helps me slowly wake up, focus on what I need to accomplish for that day and feel less overwhelmed by my to-do list.)
6. Coloring
7. Journaling/doodling
8. Reading a good book
9. Dorky, one/ten/twenty minute solo dance parties
10. Happify activities
11. Mini-at home spa day: facemasks, mani/pedi etc.
12. Baking/cooking

I’m interested in what works for you guys. How do you take care of yourselves? What activities allow you to work toward balance?

Let me know in the comments section below. 🙂