3 Ways to Enhance Your Quality of Life with Self-Care
“Accept yourself. Love yourself as you are. Your finest work, your best movements, your joy, peace, and healing comes when you love yourself. You give a great gift to the world when you do that. You give others permission to do the same: to love themselves. Revel in self-love. Roll in it. Bask in it as you would sunshine.” – Melodie Beattie
Practicing self-care should be a requirement, not an option. When we ensure that our minds and bodies are rested, relaxed, and radiantly rejuvenated, we can conquer the world in ways that would never be possible if we were tired, torn down, and stretched thin.
While you might hear the term self-care used frequently, we want to break down not just what self-care is, but three significant benefits it has on your life.
What is Self-Care
An article published on PsychologyToday.com provides a simple and clear definition of what self-care is stating that it is “the mindful taking time to pay attention to you...in a way that ensures that you are being cared for by you.”
The act of making sure you care for yourself seems simple, yet many women neglect their self-care cape and instead opt to keep the other “s” on their chest. At Nourish + Soul we believe practicing self-care allows you to fulfill your “superwoman” duties as it allows you to fully show up in all areas of your life.
Increases Productivity
Have you ever stayed up late after a busy day to get more work done? Did you find it easier or harder than getting things accomplished after a full night’s rest? How about trying to return to your normal tasks after a tragedy in your life, such a family death or big health scare? When your mind and body are in a state of overwhelm, no matter how extensive, it can reduce your productivity and make everything you do take longer and be more difficult.
Instead of continually pushing through when you know you need to take time for yourself, start implementing regular self-care activities whether it’s a walk in the park, reading your favorite book, planning an at-home spa day or taking a nap. You will find that when your body, mind, and emotions are healthy, your productivity and quality of work will improve as well.
Reduces Stress
Taking care of yourself and your happiness will ultimately reduce your stress. We all know that chronic stress can have a terrible impact on your health as you are more likely to experience
Headaches
Chest pain
Anxiety
Irritability
Depression
Sleep problems and more
Give your body the chance to reduce stress by practicing self-care to initiate the body’s relaxation trigger which is the opposite of the fight or flight response.
Allows You to Care Of Others
As women, we are continually wearing our superhero cape and saving the world one problem at a time, but as the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. When you allow yourself the opportunity to ensure you are full in the sense of being happy and healthy, you have more to give to your friends, family, career, and community.
However, if you keep running on metaphorical fumes, one day, your car will stop running, and you’ll be stranded on the side of the road looking for help. Who will you be able to save then?
Self-care is not a one-off experience that you practice every once in a while when you feel like your stress meter is about to explode. It’s best to implement levels of self-care every day from small acts such as reading a few chapters of a book to more grand actions such as taking a vacation. In turn, you will be more productive, happier, healthier, and able to serve and support your loved ones much better.
NOURISH TIP: Grab our FREE 30-Day Self-Care Guide to get started, or restart, your self-care journey. Click HERE to get your copy!
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