Practice Self Care With These 5 Tips

Whether we’re working overtime on our jobs, starting a new business, getting another degree at 45 or whether our lives are full of responsibilities for our families…—women are doing more and better than ever before!

While that is something to be celebrated, it is easy to get stuck into our To-Do list and simply forget to really take care and nourish ourselves.  I don’t mean just nourish with food, but nourish our souls and inner beings.

I’ve found that becoming mindful of my self-care needs has helped me to overcome stressful situations and failures with more resilience than before.

But this has not come easily, as most women, I have always pushed my needs down the priority list, so to start the process I had to learn to turn off my ‘to do list’ mindset and shift into a purposeful, slower mindset where I become more aware of my own needs. 

And after trying out a lot of different things, these are my tried and tested ways of establishing a daily self-care routine.

1. Practice daily positive self-affirmations

Now this might sound a bit kooky, but positive psychology and self-affirmations has some solid science backing it up.

Research has found that practicing daily self-affirmations is known to rewire the brain, helping respond better to stress (!!), failures and improve overall general well-being.

(On a personal note, I’ll never forget when my high-school teacher asked us to write a love letter to ourselves. She delivered them to us five years later. It was unbelievably beautiful to reflect on the growth I had had in those five years. Never underestimate the power of love letter to yourself J)

You can start small, by writing down 3 simple things that align with your core values. For example, if your work is important to you, start with 3 ways in which you are making a difference with your work.

And here’s a small exercise to get you started.

Remember that little Self-Care Recipe card you received with your Cosmic Energy?

Take it and turn it around.  Then take a moment to write down 3 things you genuinely like about yourself. Please post a picture on Instagram and challenge your friend to share 3 things they love about themselves. We would love to see what you love about yourself too so please tag us @inspiriko. I will kick it off - Here is mine:

2. Pamper yourself

You deserve it, girl! It’s time to put on that sheet mask and start the favourite rom-com, and pamper yourself with your favourite glass of wine or a delicious mug of Cosmic Energy (Shameless self-promotion alert!)

3. Treat yourself to a date

Does it sound weird?  You are the most important person in your life (Now, say that once more and repeat another 2 times!). Treating yourself to a date is not selfish or weird (I mean it could be if you started complementing yourself in the middle of a restaurant!), it is a small act of self love that we all deserve.

Put on your favourite dress & your favourite perfume. Now appreciate how gorgeous and wonderful you are. Tell yourself a compliment. Thank yourself for being the strong, compassionate, ambitious and kind woman you are.  Your time is NOW!

4. Take a moment everyday to be kind and show love to yourself

It is very important throughout the day to show yourself little acts of kindness. Try adopting a self-love ritual. It could be anything, starting from making a freshly squeezed juice in the morning to taking 5 – 10 minutes to listen to your favourite podcast.

Take a moment to celebrate your successes – getting kids to school on time (amazing!); felt confident on a phone call (you go girl!), managed to finish a project before deadline (you are a star!). In no time you will feel yourself more confident, more in control of your day and more open to new opportunities.

5. Feed your body well.

Enjoying your food and eating right, are two simple things you can start right away. There are many benefits of eating right, like keeping the weight down, keeping your mood swings in check, maintaining healthy immunity and energy. Here are my top tips to stay on track with healthy eating:

• Make breakfast a priority. If you don’t like waking up early to cook, make a green smoothie in the evening and keep it in the fridge, or prepare an overnight oats or chia pudding. The idea is to make sure you have a delicious and nutritious start to your day.
• Pre-portion your snacks to avoid overeating. For example, make little mixed nut and seed bags of 30 g each.
• Stick to your eating schedule
• Go for a lighter dinner. Try to consume most of your calories by lunch time while you are active and opt for a lighter dinner to help your digestive system to recover.
• Go for 80/20 rule. Eat healthy 80% of time and allow yourself a moment to indulge. Plan your indulgences though (e.g. if you know you have a coffee date with a friend planned during the week make it your indulgent 20% and keep to a healthy diet for the rest of the week).

So there you have it, the top 5 things I try to practice daily to get me through the stress of running a startup and being there for my family and friends. I fail regularly in following through with these everyday, but trying my best and making it a habit has made huge changes to my daily life. I hope the list inspires you to take time to nourish yourself. Remember, working on loving yourself more - right now as you are – is the most powerful thing you can do to increase your wellbeing.

Wishing you the best of health

Andra x