50+ Ways To Use Self-Care to Ease Your Stress
/
Photo by Burak Kebapci from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/light-45072/
You can’t give from an empty cup.
As many of you know, I’m co-founder of the Museum of Happiness, and being a new startup, there seems to be too much to do and too little time for the team to do it!
With that can easily come stress and anxiety.
So, after spending some time away with the team, we concluded that making self-care the team’s number one priority would help to create a more successful project, organisation and life.
I also strongly feel that it’s important to live the values we teach others - if being kind to ourselves, working reasonable hours and being playful and creative doesn’t result in a thriving organisation - then we can move onto another project.
Living our values is more important than any one project.
To live our values means to be mindful, kind, playful, wise and nurture community. Not easy, but these values do come naturally to us when we are authentically ourselves and feeling relaxed.
Resources for Self-Care
My research into self-care ended with me finding a wide variety of interesting videos and other resources, which I’d like to share with you today.
Ending the pursuit of perfection
This is one of my favourite TEDx talks now. Iskra shares a powerful personal story and simple tips to look after yourself. Enjoy!
A Self-Care Action Plan by Hank Green
An entertaining and short video offering you steps towards self-care
Steps include:
Recognise it’s ok to take care of yourself (in fact it’s smart to do so!)
Research what self-care actions work for YOU. (nutrition, exercise, hydrating, taking small breaks are universal ones)
Consider journalling
Make a list of self-care actions that work for you
Self care powers - activate! What are your warning signs?
Clarify your warning signs. Maybe checking your phone obsessively? Rushing too much? Tension in your jaw?
45 Tips for mind, body and soul
If you need some self-care ideas, check these ones out from Tiny Buddha. You’d likely to find something there that resonates with you. You could pick one and try it out this week and let us know how it goes!
People Share Their Self-Care Routine
A lovely video on a variety of ideas on self-care in less than 3 minutes by Buzzfeed.
I love their one liner: “Just take that time to do something for yourself.”
My Morning Checklist
I’ve recently been discovering the power of checklists. It can literally saves hundreds of thousands of lives in the aviation, construction and now medical industry. And it can save your life too!
So, I’ve started a short checklist I go through every morning as part of my own self-care routine. This includes:
Waking up relatively early (usually around 5 or 6am for me)
Not checking my messages, emails or texts!
Meditating either in silence or with a guided meditation (and if I don’t feel like meditating for 30-60 minutes for whatever reason, I consider doing just one minute and then decide)
Journalling for 20 minutes with a timer (a bit like morning pages)
Breakfast
Daily writing and blogging
Important work or reflection
Check and respond to important messages
Journaling and meditating is an important part of my emotional and spiritual well being. By creating a checklist, I know what to focus on and in what order, and gets my day to a familiar and enjoyable start.
Conclusion
Here’s some of my key learnings around self-care.
Silence is a keystone self-care habit. By spending time in silence, you recharge body, mind and spirit. And the awareness and wisdom that grows helps you get insights about navigating other areas of your life too.
Self-care is the greatest investment you can make. More than the house you buy or the car you drive. When you nurture yourself, you’re much better able to help others too.
Self-care isn’t a reward - it’s a vital part of being human.
Self-care is realising: ‘I am responsible for myself’
In a nutshell: “Just take that time to do something for yourself.”
Care for yourself first, and then care for those around you. If you find it hard to care for yourself, you need it more than anyone else.
Start small and start today.
----
Our Teach Mindfulness program offers you 3 months in an online community to nurture your self-care as well as discover how to teach and share mindfulness with others.
