Beauty is an inward and outward thing in my opinion. In order for me to really shine, I need to feel, look and do good. But in order to do that, I have to make sure self-care is a priority in my life.
Everyone’s definition of self-care is different and what that looks like, varies from person to person. Self-care is more than bath bombs, essential oils, and affirmations, but I do believe it’s still an essential part of it. By definition, self-care is doing the work to improve and preserve your health — mental, emotional, spiritual, sexual, etc.. Depending on how you like to unwind, those affirmations and bath bombs can be a tool to help you recenter and relax. With that being said, here are five ways to incorporate self-care into your routine.
Take A Look Inward (Reflection)
One of my goals this year was to do more reflecting. I find that taking the time to understand —who I am, what I like, what I don’t like, what I want to change, what I love, what bothers me, what excites me and makes me feel whole— it gives me a better sense of direction as far as growing and gaining a sense of self goes. To be honest, I struggled with where to start. Journaling quickly became pointless rants with a “dear, diary today was a good day” type of tone. There’s nothing wrong with ranting and getting things off your chest, but I didn’t have a clearer direction. I didn’t have a better understanding, it was more of a timeline of what went down that day.
So I decided to find a guide to add structure to my thoughts. That aid came from a friend’s book recommendation. That book is Acts Of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant. It’s designed for people of color and self-awareness. It posed thoughts that I wouldn’t have thought about, honestly. Acts Of Faith has daily prompts, quotes, reflective questions, and affirmations— to me, the perfect balance of strength and vulnerability.
Talk About What’s Going On
Don’t let thoughts or feelings build-up in your mind and soul. Like most things, what comes in must also go out. There’s a lot of things that can cause an imbalance and there is nothing wrong with talking to someone to help you get a better sense of things or go through it. To take this further, talking to your mom, dad or sister is okay, but if possible, try to talk to someone who is unbiased and trained to help you unpack things.
Take Time To Relax
I need time to relax my mind and body. I need days that consist of doing absolutely nothing recharge and decompress. Sometimes that looks laying around doing nothing, watching TV all day, or taking a relaxing bath that no only sets a vibe, but physically frees my body of soreness and stress. For my baths, I tend to add Epsom salt. It helps reduce stress in your body, promotes sleep, provides your body with Magnesium (the fourth most abundant mineral in the body), and more.
Our bodies tend to carry a lot of physical stress and as I mentioned before, it’s also important to release that. Here’s my easy but relaxing home spa day that you can do yourself.
Set Boundaries
This sounds like an easy thing to do, but this requires a lot of work. A lot of us guilt trip ourselves for saying no or standing up for ourselves and the idea of that blows my mind. Setting boundaries is a way to know when your doing, allowing, or even receiving too much. It helps with keeping balance and being more self-aware.
So start by exploring whats too much, evaluate your mental space and triggers and start setting your boundaries accordingly. Don’t feel bad about saying no, feel good about it; you’re doing it for your better self.
Incorporate Solitude
This is different from taking time to relax or reflecting, practicing solitude gives you time with yourself to just be. Time with self adds so much clarity. For example, have you ever tried to figure something out with other people, but it becomes too much so you burst out and say “hold on, give me a sec, let me think!” Then those short but impactful moments of silence allow you to just tune everything out and think for yourself. To me on a very small scale that’s what solitude can do for you.
Solitude can also help you recharge. I need time alone, being around too much energy drains me and I feel exhausted and overwhelmed. Tapping into solitude allows me to gain balance and recenter.
If you enjoyed this: Read, FOUR WORDS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR MY SELF-CARE.