Tips To Continue To Take Care Of Yourself Going Forward

Self-Care is a Process

Self-care is a process which requires practice and dedication if you want to make it stick. Don’t get discouraged if it takes time to make this new concept a part of your life. It’ll get easier, and you’ll probably find yourself craving your self-care activities so much you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them. However, there will inevitably be times that are busier or more stressful when self-care may go by the wayside. If you find that happening, be sure to follow these tips to continue to take care of yourself going forward.

Going Forward Follow Your Gut

Sometimes we get so busy that we find ourselves living on auto-pilot. That’s only natural during hectic times, but it’s critical that you make an attempt to listen to your instincts during these times to know whether you’re in need of a boost. When you start to feel especially frazzled or fatigued, that’s not a cue to double down and work harder. It’s your body and mind telling you that you need a break. Listen to them. Along these lines, look for other unusual signs that things are off balance with you such as irritability, eating poorly, losing sleep or indulging in bad habits. These things are telling you to take care of yourself.

Schedule It In

A trick that helps some people to fit self-care into their schedules when life gets busy is to actually write it in their date book or calendar. Treat your self-care commitments like any other appointment or event. Write down the time you’ll start and finish. Try to be specific about the activity you’ll engage in. Doing these things will increase the odds that you’ll actually follow through. It’s easy to put yourself on the backburner when life gets crazy, but don’t forget that these are the times you need self-care the most.

Learning to be in the Now

Few things are universal among human beings, but one of the few things that is seems to be is a tendency to live in the past or the future rather than in the present. This is a common problem that crosses through cultures and across time periods. Don't let yourself slip back.

Life is lived in the present, moment by moment, not in the past or the future, and if you aren’t living in the now, you’re missing your life. Those things that will become your new memories, those goals you’re struggling to reach, are all important components of your life now and you are meant to enjoy them now.

Mindfulness is all about being in the present moment. When you’re being mindful, you’re intentionally focusing only on what’s happening now and not what’s happening later today or tomorrow or what happened yesterday.

If you want to learn to live more in the present instead of the past or the future, starting a mindfulness practice is one of the best ways to do so. Start by learning how to do mindfulness meditation “pauses” and incorporate them into your daily life. Once you’re doing that regularly, you can extend your practice to mindfulness activities.

As you get more comfortable being mindful and practicing your mindfulness, you’ll be able to expand your practice into more aspects of your life and practice mindfulness more frequently.

You’ll still have times when you get preoccupied or distracted. That’s natural; no one can be mindful all of the time. But if you want to learn to live your life in the now, start a mindfulness practice today. You’ll see the benefits in no time.

Create a Plan for Going Forward

Developing a self-care plan is crucial to maintaining your well-being. I shared some ideas in a previous blog post about how to do this. Let’s review a bit, as it’s so important to have a self-care toolkit at your disposal during life’s busiest and most stressful periods.

Keep your emergency self-care list and your care package together so they’re easily accessed when you need them. You also make sure there’s a list of trusted contacts to call when you might need some self-care encouragement and accountability. Your tribe can provide the motivation and support you need to take care of yourself.

One final word. Take time to assess your self-care needs regularly. This will also help to keep you on track. Ask yourself once a week or so if you’re giving yourself enough time and attention. Listen to your instincts. Make adjustments as necessary. Self-care is an ongoing and evolving process. It requires your constant attention.

To continuing to practice self-care as you continue going forward

Fran Watson

Just wrapped up Day 7 of my Facebook Lives

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P.P.S. Let me know if you are interested in continuing on with weekly meetings and posts.

Going Forward With Self-Care