In our last blog we discussed the risks associated with not practicing self-care. In this blog, we’ll discuss what you can do to set yourself up for success in your self-care practice.
Establishing a daily routine and setting healthy boundaries are two major cornerstones to your self-care efforts. These two practices will enhance your mental health and bring you more JOY. Self-care is what you do to help you stay in balance; body, mind and spirit. The greater your self-care, the greater you are able to handle the daily stressors of life we all face.
Before you keep reading please know you can now hear my thoughts on this topic on our YouTube Channel or you can just keep reading.
Self-care is NOT selfish.
Self-care encourages you to maintain healthy habits and a healthy relationship with yourself, so you can transmit the good feelings to others. It’s about paying attention to your well-being so you can be the best version of yourself to those around you. When you take care of yourself you are naturally JOYful, vibrant and expressive in all you do. Let’s explore several important self-care elements.
The 7 Keys to a Successful Self-Care Practice
1) The very first step in establishing any self-care practice is to define your vision. What is it you would like to accomplish? What is your vision of your healthiest and best self? Remember health includes our emotions.
In my forums with executives, I asked the question of one executive how he measures his success? He pointed at his Fitbit. We dug deeper to bring awareness that his Fitbit is just an indicator but not his true measurement of success.
The question is what are you ultimately trying to accomplish and more importantly WHY? Why are you doing what you’re doing? Why is it important to you to implement daily self-care?
2) You want to establish healthy routines. Having a morning routine sets the tone for the day. A daily routine forces you to think about what you want to accomplish and perhaps more importantly how you want to accomplish it. Here are a few more concrete ideas to inspire you.
3) Let’s talk about setting healthy boundaries. We discussed this recently. It’s important to realize we can say NO to things that aren’t part of our vision or that we do not feel like doing. When we talked about this one at a meeting recently, one executive decided to remove herself from two boards she was a part of as she realized they took a lot of her time, but she didn’t feel they fed her soul.
4) Sometimes this one is a surprise but your day actually starts the night before (this resonated a lot with the execs I had in the last forum).
Getting up in the morning greatly depends on when you go to bed. Often when you go to bed depends how late you ate dinner. So in my mind, your day starts with dinner the evening before. Make sure you offer yourself at least 2-3 hours to wind down after your dinner meal.
5) Next up, be sure to prioritize and schedule your self-care time. Many of us live and die by our calendars. We MUST schedule time for ourselves or it simply will not happen. I frequently block out and schedule my daily walks, meditations and yoga sessions.
6) Make sure you prepare in advance for your self-care. For example, if you want to work out in the morning go ahead and put out your workout clothes, book the class and do everything possible to make it on time. If you want to cook healthy meals, make sure you have all the right ingredients in the fridge, maybe even chop up the veggies on the weekend to prepare for the week ahead.
7) Finally, let’s talk about removing distractions. It can be as easy as removing social media apps from your phone. You can also look into what chores you can delegate or hire someone to do. This might include: grocery delivery, maid service, some of your work to the team, your kids’ errands, or hired help. Minimizing distractions will aid in setting you up for success with your self-care routines.
Are you ready to take your self-care routine to the next level? We’ve got you covered. Our team of executive health coaches is ready to help you prioritize yourself. Click the 'Contact' button in the top right corner or simply send us an email to info@joyvial.com to schedule your free discovery session.
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