Five Simple Ways To Take Better Care Of Yourself

With the year that we have all just had, it is extra important to give yourself the love, kindness, and attention that you deserve right now. This can happen in a number of different ways, and should definitely include regular acts of self-care.

Taking care of yourself may often sound like a luxury, especially if you are responsible for taking care of other people. But it is something we all absolutely must do in order to preserve our happiness and sense of self.

When we don’t take care of ourselves, we can allow stress to build up and overwhelm us. Not only is this bad for our mental health, but it can also lead to physical health problems.

If you are in need of some inspiration for how to take better care of yourself, then look no further. Today I am sharing five simple ways that you can up your self-care game!

These are things that we can all embrace, so be sure to share these concepts with your loved ones too!

1.Look To Your Diet

The food that you eat each day will have a huge impact on how well you feel — both physically and mentally. This is why one of the very simplest things you can do to take care of yourself is to ensure you are getting enough wholesome foods into your diet.

Fruits and vegetables are an obvious choice and will always feature in a healthy diet, however, it’s also worth making sure you’re including things like whole grains, legumes, nuts, and leafy green vegetables. Basically the other nutrient-dense plant-based treats that don’t get the same consistent press as fruits and vegetables!

By fuelling your body with the nutrients it needs, you can help to make sure you stay feeling your best. This can also help to make sure you can take better care of yourself in other ways.

2.Be Mindful

There are a number of different ways to embrace the concept of mindfulness. At the core of this concept is simply the idea of being present and aware — of living in the moment.

Being able to give your attention to that which is happening in the present is a great way to gain greater clarity over your thoughts. If you have found your mind regularly wandering to concerns for the future over the last few months, then a mindfulness practice could be a great way to move past these negative thoughts.

When you spend more time living in the moment, you will notice that you have more energy and enthusiasm for taking care of your needs.

You may find that daily meditation is a gentle way to ease into mindfulness. When using either of these practices, you must simply bring your awareness to that which you are experiencing in the present moment, and to ensure you are breathing deeply and consciously.

Check out my previous blog post for an introduction to mindfulness!

3.Set Goals

Having goals to work towards is so important for our mental health and happiness.

These goals don’t have to be huge accomplishments, and could simply be small things that you want to work towards or invite into your life. You may want to make a move within your career, or smash a new fitness goal. You may also want to make smaller changes to your daily routine, or incorporate healthier foods into your diet.

When you set goals for yourself, you are giving yourself something positive to work towards. This is a great way to show care for yourself, and to remind yourself that you are moving forwards with your life and plans.

4.Make ‘Me’ Time A Priority

Being alone may be something that you have complicated feelings about. If you don’t like being alone, then this may be something you need to address in depth to fully understand why this is.

However you feel about being alone, taking time to yourself is so important for your mental health. When you spend large amounts of time in the company of other people, then you have very little opportunity to listen to yourself and your own needs. When this is the case, you may not have the time to process the things that happen during your day, such as your interactions with others — both good and bad.

When you don’t have this time to process and unwind, then things can build up and start to feel heavier than they truly are.

As you give your attention to this idea of ‘me’ time, you may find yourself questioning if this type of self-care is actually selfish. It may not seem normal to you to deliberately take this time to yourself, and this can lead to feelings of guilt and indulgence.

Reminding yourself why you are taking this time, and understanding that rest and relaxation is SO necessary, can help you to overcome these feelings.

Click here to read more on How To Remind Yourself That Self-Care Isn’t Selfish!

5.Get Into Nature

Getting outside to soak up some sun and fresh air may not be something you’ve done enough of during the past year. If you have been spending several days at a time without leaving the house recently, then this could seriously impact your wellbeing.

There are so many different ways to embrace this idea. It can be as easy as going for a walk in your local area, or could even be going camping in the woods for a whole weekend. The duration doesn’t necessarily have to be important, the point is to enjoy a change of scenery and appreciate the natural world.

If you can double this time up with some exercise, then even better!

Exercising outdoors can give you such a wonderful sense of freedom, and can also go a long way to boosting your self-esteem and confidence.

Take Better Care Of Yourself

These five things are just a handful of ways that you can take better care of yourself, and there are so many other ways to embrace this concept.

To help you keep up the momentum with this process, I would like to share with you my top ten tried and tested tips for keeping stress and anxiety away!

Click to sign up to my Get Inspired Newsletter and receive my tips immediately to your inbox!

A Word About Overcoming Fear

Fear is such a natural part of life that some people give up entirely on trying to overcome this connection to certain things. You may experience fear in many forms, but most commonly in the form of a phobia or a negative emotional connection to something or someone.

If this sounds applicable to your life then it is important to remember that we all have the strength within ourselves to combat this issue.

The more you feed your fears by avoiding the things you are scared of, the more you allow your fears to grow and manifest in different ways. This can quickly become extremely detrimental to your life on the whole. By changing your perception of this emotion you work to turn it around and eradicate it from your thoughts. Can you imagine how amazing your life would be if you had no fear? If you weren’t afraid to go after the things you want and live your life in an authentic and open way?

The following simple steps are intended to help you understand your fears and begin the process of overcoming them.

Be Aware of Your Fears

First of all, you need to be aware of what your fears are and where they come from. Writing a list of all the negative emotions and thoughts that you have throughout the day will help you to gain a clearer perspective on this. If a thought is not a loving and positive one, then it is coming from a place of fear.

Once you have created this list, try and connect reasons and past experiences to the things on your list.

Positive Affirmations for Moving Forwards

Once you know where you fears have come from you can come up with a relevant positive affirmation for every item on your list.

For example, if you fear affection and intimacy because you have had a previous traumatic experience, then the positive affirmation, “I am a confident person and I am worthy of love and companionship”, can help you to overcome this.

Repeat it to yourself out loud or in your head every day and also in moments where you have a negative thought about this fear. Positive affirmations help you to change the way you think and this in turn changes the way you interpret your fears.

Rationalise Your Fear

Spending some time analysing your fears in order to rationalise them will help to take the power out of them. This is also true of talking about them with someone else. Often when we say things out loud they seem less serious than they do in our minds.

When we keep something bottled up inside we tend to dwell on it and it can quickly appear to be much more serious than it really is. Spending some time contemplating these fears and talking them through with a friend or a therapist can be incredibly beneficial.