20 Ways to Practice Self Care Differently

It is not likely that most of us would define “self-care” the same way.  Generally speaking, it involves consistent activities that we perform to support our mental, emotional, physical or spiritual health. What I frequently witness, are people doing things in the short-term that they believe will promote pleasure or happiness.  Two very different things.  By calling the later self-care, we feel less guilty about indulgent behavior that allows us to numb-out of our current reality.  This isn’t self-care.

If you are unsure what type of “self-care” you are practicing, ask yourself this:

Am I running towardsomething or awayfrom something?

Often our motivation is to free ourselves from the stress, anxiety and overwhelm of our jobs, our life, or the people in it. This is short-game thinking.  True self-care is performed with the long-game in mind.

For fun, I am going to share20 ways you can care for yourself that are not motivated by the need to escape your troubles. Ready?

1. go to be early
2. be present
3. take a bubble bath on a good day
4. listen to something that inspires you
5. forgive someone
6. forgive someone else
7. listen hard
8. wake up early and pray
9. do something for the first time
10. do something for the last time
11. let people know they matter to you
12. hug longer
13. pay something forward
14. clean out one drawer or closet
15. wake up confident
16. say no
17. talk nice to yourself
18. perform a random act of kindness
19. speak truth
20. wake up proud

To read more about each practice, tune into my social media (@coachwithErika) during the month of March.

By distracting ourselves with high-pleasure activities, we are able to escape the negative emotions that come standard with the human experience.  This pleasure is temporary.  Managing your mind is the only real way to take care of yourself that actually reduces stress, anxiety, overwhelm and burn out.  

So, try some new approaches to self-care and create some joy from within.  Just remember that when you find yourself escaping your current reality, try redirecting your focus to changing your thoughts.  Your thoughts are at the core of any problem you feel the need to “escape”.

For help with learning to manage your mind, enroll in one of my upcoming classes or take advantage of my complimentary session offer today.