What did I learn from 2021? Easy – if you don’t look after yourself, you will burn out and not be able to help yourself, let alone anyone else. I experienced it and saw it many times over, and it taught me to develop strategies that help me release stress and stay grounded, and build them into a solid self care regime.
Here are the Top 5 Self Care Tips I have found helpful in my personal quest to focus on what I can control, and to let go of what I cannot control.
Tip #1 - be consistent
"It takes consistency to create healthy habits - and consistency to break unhealthy ones."
Consistency is always my biggest issue when it comes to Self Care. I get easily distracted into other things (not gonna lie – it's my phone), lose track of time, and use any excuse I can to avoid doing what I know I should be doing.
Meet My New Consistency Hero - The HabitMinder App:
Finally – an App that actually works for me. Why? Because you put in your habits, decide when you want to do them, set your reminders and a ring tone for each and you are ready to go. Each habit has a reminder when it is time to do it, AND if I haven't done it, I get a polite query later in the day asking if I managed to do it yet - a subtle push to do it now that works every time.
The most satisfying part is recording your successful completion of each habit and a graphic record of how you are going daily, weekly, monthly.
There are stacks of these types of apps so have a look and find one you enjoy.
Tip #2 - Create a Good morning routine
"You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems" James Clear, Atomic Habits
A Good Morning System Includes:
Hydrate – Start your day with a nice big glass of water and some lemon juice – this hydrates you and aids your digestion.
Meditate – Meditation covers a huge range of things. Personally, I have a selection of guided meditations that I enjoy, some include a breathing focus, or a Havening aspect, or EFT Tapping, or a beautiful voice I can listen carefully too or just zone out with. If you’ve worked with me then you probably know the 3 part Havening Process that clears your mind, brings peace and calm and gets you focused for your day.
Move Your Body – once I have meditated I do Zhening QiGong, which for me, is an energy flowing, physical movement meditation experience that always puts me in a great place. Then I do a short exercise routine designed for me by a marvelously experienced trainer. Or Yoga with Adriene (the easy stuff lol) You can check her out here and find workouts that suit your fitness, flexibility, motivation etc. https://www.youtube.com/c/yogawithadriene
And that’s my morning started well with mind body and soul aligned and ready to go for the day. When I do it I feel great - when I don’t - I notice the difference.
Tip #3 - know How you sabotage yourself
What do you do to get in your own way? Here are 3 of the most common ways we accidentally set ourselves up for failure:
1. Starting with too many goals at once.
2. Setting 100% as your target goal - all or nothing.
3. Making your first habit something you hate to do.
Write down all the ways you sabotage yourself. These are excellent habits to identify and break right from the start.
Tip #4 - do what works
Start with one new habit - if it includes breaking an old habit – then it’s already a 2 for 1. Do it for a week and get comfortable with it before adding another habit.
Cut Yourself some slack and allow the occasional day off or slip up. Forgive yourself when you mess up and get back into it the next day. This is where the app is helpful as it allows you to see your progress and that the occasional slip isn’t a big deal.
Make Your First Habit of the day something easy that you enjoy so you start with a SUCCESS frame. (eg drinking a glass of water - easy!)
Tip #5 - make time your friend
"A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time." Mark Twain
A busy start to the day and next thing you know, you haven’t done any healthy habits and your morning routine has gone out the window. It happens to all of us.
Solution:
Make Time Your friend by having longer and shorter versions of every goal so you can almost always fit something in. This means you are not compromising by only doing half your “training” for example - you are simply choosing the shorter version that fits with your timeframe that day. Because Habit building is about consistency and completion.
Try it – it works!
Most important:
If a habit isn't working – don’t let it sit uncompleted every day. Examine why it doesn’t work - what is getting in the way? Make adjustments and experiment. View it as a learning experience and use what you learn to design healthy habits that work for you.
Go For It. Give me some feedback with App's you like, habits you are using and how you are managing your stress levels and lets build some healthy habits together.
Need Support?
Book An Appointment with me to help you clarify your goals and design a self care programme that works for you.
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