Self-Care by definition is a practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health. So guess what that means to me….whoever you are/wherever you are and whatever you choose to do on a daily basis to help take care of yourself for 10 minutes a day is awesome because it helps YOU and no one else.

There isn’t a one size fits all activity that helps more than others and quite frankly the activity that you choose could be situational. Maybe it’s taking a hot bath after all the daily activities are done and you finally have 20 minutes to yourself or that you finally have the time in your day to stop everything that you are doing to read a new book or continue on with one that you started 3 months ago. My point is that there isn’t a cookie-cutter regime that is going to help you take care of yourself, but honestly to take 10 minutes out of your day to do something for yourself may be the most important 10 minutes of the day. Because it helps to improve your personal well-being.

Just think, if you constantly put people before yourself and put yourself on the back burner, how do you think you would feel after a while? Do you think that you would feel fulfilled? Do you think that you would be happy? C’mon be honest, you wouldn’t and eventually, you would become resentful which is exactly what you don’t want because taking care of others really does make you happy. It doesn’t mean that you are cold-hearted or selfish if you do something for yourself, but if taking that 10 minutes a day it helps you to fill up your own cup so that you are more productive and a happier person.

Focusing on our personal health and wellness gives us the energy, gives us the strength, and gives us the motivation to do things for others because we feel good, we look good and we are enjoying life with confidence. Even just typing that out gives me energy! Taking care of our bodies and our minds not only helps us to flourish but helps others to flourish as well.

Health Benefits of Daily Self-Care Acts:

-Improves Immunity
-Improves positive thinking
-Decreases Stress
-Decreases our susceptibility to anxiety, depression or other emotional health issues

Examples of Daily Self-Care:

-Reading a book
-Sitting down and having a healthy dinner with loved ones
-Yoga/stretching
-Taking a walk or exercise
-Calling a friend or family member
-Guided meditation or meditation
-Listening to music
-Taking a hot shower or bath
-Diffusing a relaxing scent or lighting a candle
-Getting enough sleep
-Work on your hobby
-Pamper yourself
-Daily journaling for self-reflection
-Daily affirmations
-Daily spiritual practice

As I have said in past self-care articles, we are apart of a society that is on the go, go, go all the time and I’d be pretty confident in saying that most of us don’t even realize what we are doing to our personal health by not taking the time to take care of ourselves with daily acts of self-care. This type of mentality keeps us in the “fight or flight” mode for way too long which can lead to an increased risk of developing a chronic illness or disease. We just go through the motions and don’t think about it until we become so stressed out that we lash out to our loved ones, become depressed or anxious. This is all because we have deprived ourselves of that 10 minutes a day to help us become mentally and physically calm and relaxed to help increase our personal well-being.

So….what can you do for the next month for 10 minutes a day to help take care of yourself?

Take these suggestions and put them into practice. Participate in our FREE February “Self-Care” Challenge >>

February Wellness Challenge: Self-Care

Download the free Wellness Challenge Worksheet and post it or hang it somewhere that’ll you see daily – and often. Post your progress on social and tag us – we’d love to follow your progress and help you celebrate your self-care victories.

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