Self-care isn’t just about bath bombs and binge-watching Netflix! We’re talking about establishing habits into your routine to experience feelings of happiness and overall well being. Try a new habit each day and each week, wherever you can fit it. Practicing self-care is as legitimate as our needs to eat and drink, so don’t skip out on taking care of you. Don’t merely just survive, it’s time to thrive and become the best version of yourself.
Buy a small gift for someone you love.
Buying something for yourself is always a treat, but not nearly as rewarding as getting something for someone else! Get your dog a new toy, or your friend that scented candle she’s been eying. The joy you give them, you’ll feel as well, and your relationship will improve because you were being extra thoughtful. Do this regularly enough and you’ll gain a reputation as a caring friend or a great dog mom.
Make an 'It's Done list'.
We are used to making a list of things we need to do, but we never give ourselves credit for all of the things we’ve done. Even after we’ve crossed off our to-do list, we can’t see everything we have accomplished! Remind yourself of your daily or weekly successes, so you can stay motivated to keep pursuing your goals in the months to come.
Go through skincare routine + see what works + what doesn't.
Unless you’re incredibly disciplined, you probably have a lot of skincare products lining your shelves that you haven’t used in a while. Take the time to figure out what your skin needs and if you have the products for them. Factor in the time of year, age, your skin type, and even life events that may be causing you to breakout a little more. If you’re super busy right now, cut out extra steps like toners and essences that you rarely use or, if you are super minimal and want more products to address your skin concern, assess what steps are missing. Check the active ingredients in your routine and make sure you don’t have conflicting products that could cause inflammation and dryness. Building a skincare routine can seem daunting, but once you begin taking care of your skin properly, you will have one less thing to think about every day.
Write down your worries.
Spending time throughout our day worrying about whatever comes up is a really inefficient way for us to cope with daily stresses. We won’t be focused on what we need to get done if anxiety is always in the back of our minds, so start getting in the habit of writing these worries down and letting them go. You can write them down at a specific time of day or throughout the day, whatever helps your brain let go of those repetitive negative thoughts. When you reflect back on these concerns, you may notice patterns about yourself or even how silly some of your worries were and you’ll be able to cope with them better next time they come up.
Create a playlist of your favorite songs.
Do you have a playlist full of only songs that make you feel good? No? Well, you should! Singing and dancing to songs from childhood until now will bring back feelings of when life was easy and having those ready at any moment can be a huge stress relief. An added bonus is when you meet new people, you have a set of music ready to show someone and that’s a great way to get to know someone better. Better yet, hit play on your goto tune right now!
Plan a vacation to save up for.
We know we should be saving money, but the easiest way to motivate yourself to do that is to have exactly what you want in mind to save up for. If you have a dream trip that you’ve always wanted to go on then look for what you want to do there and where you want to stay. Research the destination, costs, travel when you want to go and start saving! Then when you’re feeling like spending on something frivolous to make you feel better, put money towards your vacation account and get one step closer to your dream instead of having another shirt you don’t need.
Write 10 things you love about yourself.
It’s hard to have gratitude about our lives sometimes, and it can be even harder to do that about ourselves. Regularly reminding yourself what you have to contribute to the world and what you love about you can make daily struggles much easier. You are fully capable and if you practice loving yourself, you will love others better too.
