You take care of yourself by doing the things that make you feel alive. The things that keep your mind at peace, that make you smile, that can always make any situation alright again. You’ll do it by making choices that benefit yourself, as well as others. You understand how your quality of life without self-care is not as fruitful as the quality of life with it.
Taking care of yourself is listening to your body and making every decision based on what your body tells you.
If working five days a week has exhausted your body, you probably do not want to go to the gym and perform a workout specifically designed for marathon training. Instead, you can do lighter exercises that your body can still benefit from. You take care of yourself by consuming the things that make you feel good, even the ones that would be perfect for a cheat day–but not eating too much.
You take care of yourself by thinking positive. By knowing when you’ve had enough of a situation and decide that letting the issue go is for the best. By reminding yourself that after every storm, a rainbow follows. Being positive may sound naïve at times, but if you really think about it, it’s the smartest course of action for anyone whose problems overwhelm them.
You take care of yourself by loving who you are. When you have no conflicts based on what you think, what you decide, and what you feel, most of your thoughts will be peaceful and clear. You take care of yourself by honouring everything you are — your flaws, your insecurities, your fears, and your doubts. Instead of feeding into the negativity of your emotions, you learn to appreciate and understand them. At the end of the day, you’re only human; there’s nothing wrong that.
Self-care is the foundation on which you set your life path.
When you take care of yourself, you think more clearly. You’re healthier: in mind, body, and soul. Your interactions with others also improve drastically. Ever notice how when you’re finished working out, you feel great? You feel light, like you can easily solve any problem that comes your way. When you drink water, you barely feel guilty once you consume it. When you’re nice to yourself and have nothing but good thoughts, your feelings light up your day.
Self-care is more than vanity and logic. It’s something that can better you. I believe that we should consider taking care of ourselves a vital part of our lifestyles in order to deliver the very best version of ourselves every day.
Photo by Henri Pham on Unsplash