Take Care of Yourself.
Take care of yourself. If nobody has told you today to do it. Well, I just did.
We spend a few hours fueling our bodies with nutrients (food). We moisturize, spray, wash, and so on. But are we taking care of our body because it’s what others do? To stay clean? Or do we do these routines/ rituals for ourselves because we value our body and truly want to take care of it? Nurture it. It’s our one and only body. (At least, that’s what we think now-this can be a different discussion on the podcast.)
The answer is yes, to both. We should absolutely care for our body on a spiritual level as well as a hygiene one, of course.
I know there must be multiple debates on some platforms about the benefits and disadvantages of taking care of our bodies. An example would be; romanticizing everything we do. Which could be good, could be bad. It’s healthy to flirt with yourself but, there’s a limit on it. As if the case with everything else.
What do I mean by saying take care of yourself?
This could be anything. The possibilities are endless. I specifically mean taking care of your body and mind. You can’t focus on only one part of yourself and expect the rest of you to follow. Even if you change your appearance and you look fabulous, your mind will try to fight that happy feeling if you don’t work on it. The same goes vice versa. There will always some friction between the two if you don’t get them on the same page. This goes to say that taking care of yourself is a process. Like everything else in this world. So take your time.
There’s no rush to be a better version of yourself.
What are some ways to take care of yourself?
Again, there are several ways to go about this. Here’s a list of multiple activities to do.
Take a relaxing shower. Maybe with cold water (cold water is proven to help with depression and anxiety because of the awakening feeling it gives us. It almost acts as a shock to our nervous system to get up and going.)
Invest in your hobbies. Hiking? Biking? Bowling? Planting? Painting? Writing? Don’t be afraid to do what you like. GO FOR IT.
Spend some alone time. At the movies, beach, a restaurant, or a park.
Listen to music. This always helps me. I have a really close relationship with dance. And it absolutely makes me feel more upbeat after I do it.
redecorate your home/space. A refreshing new environment could be a good twist to spice it up.
Meditate if you’ve never tried it before.
Workout. The adrenaline from working out is known to be a good boost for most people.
If working out isn’t for you, do yoga or tai chi.
Try something new, anything. An activity you would never do, too afraid to do, never had time to do.
Cook yourself a good hearty meal.
Clean. Cleaning is actually really soothing.
Take a stroll through your neighborhood.
Sit outside and watch the sun move across the sky. This last one is something I might try later this week!
I guarantee doing one thing off this list will up your happiness meter because we’re human. And in a world of complexities, we should take a couple of moments to enjoy the simplicity of life, whatever that may be for you.
When should you take care of yourself?
Great question! I’ll leave this up to you. Here are a few ideas though.
Schedule your time. I know I mentioned time earlier in the activities to try. The thing about time is that it’s completely pointless. I’ll leave a whole blog post for time. But, in this case, time has some value. You should make time for what you prioritize.
It makes no sense to be doing something you have no liking or interest in, yet you invest your time into it. I don’t mean to sound harsh here. This is quite obvious though many people can get carried away sticking to something because it’s familiar and they take no notice of how it actually makes them feel. Get my drift?
With that being said, take one day out of the week. Two, three, a little bit in each day to take care of yourself. In the long run, as you keep up with this habit you will feel so much better. Take it slow. Or go as fast as you want. Take a little step, Or take a huge step. Just go at your pace.
Now, the big question.
Why should you take care of yourself?
Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? It’s good for us. Our health. For our humanity. You don’t want to be moping around generating automatic reactions to everyday life. Without having any sense of who you are as a person if that makes sense. Taking care of yourself is one way to find out more about yourself.
Not doing this will make happiness an even farther destination you can’t reach. It’ll be harder to achieve. You have to pay attention to what’s most important- yourself!
Self-sabotage is real! I used to do this to myself all the time. I’m not going to lie sometimes I’m guilty of still doing it, but I’m getting better. I used to be neglectful of my own needs. To my body. I wouldn’t eat. Or sleep. And I felt like a zombie.
That isn’t healthy at all. And it takes a lot of effort to get out of a rut like that. If you feed your mind that type of thinking it will only fuel it with that same energy.
Our minds are hard workers that never really turn off but, when you spend time with yourself and breathe for a second, the mind gets as close as its state when we’re asleep.
For those of you already doing this for yourself, I’m deeply proud of you for taking the first step. If you’re already in, then keep going!
Side note: let me know how I’m doing. I really took a leap of faith in this. I would love some feedback. And what do you guys think about me calling y’all HamFam for people who decide to join my little community. The one I’m trying to build at least heh.
I hope whoever reads this has a wonderful day! :)
