Self Care

I feel there is a lot of misunderstanding around self-care. Many still feel it’s a bit self-indulgent, others are fully embracing the meaning and lifestyle of self-care and some are just going along with some self-care in the hope it will work but not understanding the meaning & purpose behind it. Where do you sit?

Regardless of your answer we ALL need to apply self-care in our lives simply because we need to care for the things we own, possess and value. We care for our homes, our car, our pets, our plants. Yep you see where I’m going, we NEED to care for ourselves. Of course we feed ourselves and tend to our personal hygiene but real self-care goes deeper, it’s intended to nourish your mind, body & soul, to ensure you are taking care of your physical, mental & emotional health. This is why self-care will, and should look different for everyone.

So what should you do to self-care for you? That’s entirely up to you, ask yourself what is important to you? If peace is important then boundaries, learning to say no and discipline could look like self-care for you. If physical health is important to you, then making the time for practices such as running, hiking or pilates may be in your self-care schedule. This is why picking a self-care practice off the internet often fails because it’s not right for you. So I encourage you to reflect inward to find the right self-care practices just for YOU!

Here are some suggestions, try them, but if they don’t feel right or are not beneficial then try something else:

Physical Self-care

·         Daily movement – walking in nature

·         Yoga / Pilates

·         Meditation

·         Eating well to nourish your body

·         Getting enough sleep

Mental & Emotional Self-care

·         Setting boundaries and sticking to them

·         Saying no to anything that does not serve you

·         Taking a rest day

·         Being realistic about daily / weekly achievements

·         Journaling your thoughts

·         Allowing space for your emotions

·         Asking for help when you are struggling

But ask yourself, why are you engaging in self-care , is it to be kind to yourself and truly give your mind body & soul what it needs? If the answer is yes then wonderful. If the answer is no then perhaps a little more inner searching is needed to work out why.

If you have any questions about the above content or would like some support on Self-Care or delving deeper into what you need, book a free 20 min Clarity Call with me here.

Much Love

Bel x

Why are you grateful?

Gratitude is talked about a lot these days, many practice gratitude either in the morning or it’s the last thing they do before bedtime. We all know exactly what it means to be grateful. However, to practice gratitude is to seek actively and regularly to reflect on what you are grateful for. This can be in the form of a meditation or as many like to do, gratitude journaling. I feel the question we should be asking ourselves is WHY are we grateful for those things or people in our life?

Let’s delve a little deeper into that, let’s look at one thing for which you are grateful. Most of us would say family and/or friends. That might be a significant other such as a partner a parent, sibling or best friend that has been with you through thick and thin, supported you through a challenging time but likewise has been there for you to celebrate life and have a good laugh during the good times. Take a little time to reflect on what exactly about that person are you grateful for? Are they your greatest supporter? Do they support you on your bad days and your good days? Do they do simple little things for you that put a smile on your face? Do they make your life a little easier in some way? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, I am guessing you are smiling now thinking back on a specific time or something kind, helpful or supportive that they have done for you. How often do you show your gratitude to your loved one? Do you let them know through words or actions how grateful you are for everything they do for you? Something to think about.

Now I have taken you down this path of reflecting not just on what you are grateful for, but focusing on the WHY, this should enhance the gratitude you have for this person. My hope is that you have realised gratitude is best shown with actions, be that simply offering a sincere thank you, a little card or a gift to show your appreciation and gratitude. It is when we delve a little deeper into the WHY that the strength of our gratitude becomes greater and if we do this on a regular basis it will guard against taking the people and things in our life for granted.

Let me know in the comments how you will change the way you show your gratitude for those in your life that you are truly grateful for.