I need to be honest...sometimes I slip out of my self-care routine. I find myself feeling "off" & once I take a look at how I have been taking care of myself I realize I have been slacking. I then try to remind myself of my human-ness and that I am imperfectly perfect just the way I am. And so it is...so I get back up and try again. I have realized that there are 3 key areas that help to keep our self-care routine in check. Self-care doesn’t come naturally to many of us, especially when our to-do lists are overflowing with requests from other people. You might not feel like you have the time or the energy to make it happen, so it falls to the bottom of your priority list. This happens to me more times than I am willing to admit...lol.
In this post, I’m sharing what those three habits are and how you can make them a priority. Keep reading so you can figure out what needs to change so you can make self-care easier for yourself!
The Three Essential Habits Of Self-Care
I believe there are three key habits or behaviors that make a huge impact on your relationship with self-care. If you think you’re bad at self-care or you’ve fallen out of your usual habits, it could be that you’re neglecting one of these elements.
The three key habits are:
- Boundaries
- Self-discipline
- Consistency
Let’s be real, working on these habits is NOT fun. Not once has someone said that boundaries, self-discipline, or consistency are fun. They’re not, and that’s why it’s so hard to practice them. But if you work on improving them, life becomes more fun because you can create more time and energy for the things that matter to you.
I believe there are three key habits or behaviors that make a huge impact on your relationship with self-care. If you think you’re bad at self-care or you’ve fallen out of your usual habits, it could be that you’re neglecting one of these elements.
The three key habits are:
- Boundaries
- Self-discipline
- Consistency
Let’s be real, working on these habits is NOT fun. Not once has someone said that boundaries, self-discipline, or consistency are fun. They’re not, and that’s why it’s so hard to practice them. But if you work on improving them, life becomes more fun because you can create more time and energy for the things that matter to you.
How To Cultivate These Habits
Now that you understand the importance of these habits, here’s how to cultivate them:
1. Set Boundaries
To get a better sense of your boundaries in life, consider what kind of behavior you will and will not tolerate from other people. If late night email requests from your co-worker are causing you to lose sleep, you are in charge of setting (and communicating) a boundary to prevent this. No one else is going to do this for you.
Also think about your non-negotiables. These are the things you consider when making plans (for example, family, work, friends, wellness, etc.). Decide how much time you want to dedicate to these aspects of your life. If requests or invites from others can’t fit around these things, say no.
Now that you understand the importance of these habits, here’s how to cultivate them:
1. Set Boundaries
To get a better sense of your boundaries in life, consider what kind of behavior you will and will not tolerate from other people. If late night email requests from your co-worker are causing you to lose sleep, you are in charge of setting (and communicating) a boundary to prevent this. No one else is going to do this for you.
Also think about your non-negotiables. These are the things you consider when making plans (for example, family, work, friends, wellness, etc.). Decide how much time you want to dedicate to these aspects of your life. If requests or invites from others can’t fit around these things, say no.
2. Practice Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is all about removing temptations. If you’re scrolling through Instagram late at night when you said you’d go to bed at a reasonable time (sleep is self-care, my friends!), you are not practicing self-discipline. Instead, put your phone across the room, turn it off, or delete Instagram.
Do whatever you can to reduce or remove temptations so you can prove to yourself that you are in control. If you want to get better at self-discipline, you have to remove the temptations and distractions that cause you to let your goals and intentions slide.
Self-discipline is all about removing temptations. If you’re scrolling through Instagram late at night when you said you’d go to bed at a reasonable time (sleep is self-care, my friends!), you are not practicing self-discipline. Instead, put your phone across the room, turn it off, or delete Instagram.
Do whatever you can to reduce or remove temptations so you can prove to yourself that you are in control. If you want to get better at self-discipline, you have to remove the temptations and distractions that cause you to let your goals and intentions slide.
3. Be Consistent
Consistency happens when you take small, incremental steps to make a certain action a habit. Instead of trying to change all of your habits at once, start by setting one self-care goal for yourself and work on sticking to it. For example, if your self-care goal is to workout for 30 minutes every day, start by building your self-discipline up in this area.
Set yourself up for success, remove temptations, and reward yourself so that you continue to make it a habit. Use a trigger such as ‘I will workout for 30 minutes after I get out of bed’ so that you know exactly when you’ll do it. Self-discipline plays a huge role in how consistent you are with your actions, so continue to work on building your self-discipline around your habits and priorities.
Consistency happens when you take small, incremental steps to make a certain action a habit. Instead of trying to change all of your habits at once, start by setting one self-care goal for yourself and work on sticking to it. For example, if your self-care goal is to workout for 30 minutes every day, start by building your self-discipline up in this area.
Set yourself up for success, remove temptations, and reward yourself so that you continue to make it a habit. Use a trigger such as ‘I will workout for 30 minutes after I get out of bed’ so that you know exactly when you’ll do it. Self-discipline plays a huge role in how consistent you are with your actions, so continue to work on building your self-discipline around your habits and priorities.
I hope these 3 habits that we explored will help you to establish a healthy and consistent self-care routine! I know that I will be taking a look at my personal self-care routine & adjusting where I need to.
I would love it if you joined my FREE group where women empower each other to love their imperfectly perfect selves. If this is something you might be interested...click on the link below:
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I also have a 8 week program where I coach you through your journey to self-love. If you find yourself hating your body...I have ways that have worked personally for me to love myself...exactly as I am...without losing a pound!
Let's find your magic!
join us!
I also have a 8 week program where I coach you through your journey to self-love. If you find yourself hating your body...I have ways that have worked personally for me to love myself...exactly as I am...without losing a pound!
Let's find your magic!
See you all next week for another post on "Weekly Wellness"
Sending you love and light
Martina
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