Ways To Stop Avoiding Self-Care

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Sometimes even if the thing sounds fun I don’t even want to think about adding it to my life because I’m so stressed out and overloaded with what I currently have going on. And I keep pushing it off, and pushing it off, until I realize that there is never going to be the perfect time to introduce self-care through a new habit or activity into my life. 

There is never going to be a perfect time

This is nothing new and I’m not the first person to say this. It never hurts to get a reminder now and then that you don’t need to wait for the stars to align to start taking better care of yourself. I often have to re-remind myself of this – and I get reminders from the hubs too.

You need some healthy boundaries, girlfriend

If you find that you never have time to implement a healthy new habit, a new hobby, a side hustle you want to do, date night, etc, it is time to look at where those healthy boundaries went.  

I want to be very clear that I’m not preaching at you. I myself fall into old ways and lose boundaries.  

Sometimes I do this at work and I find myself working nights and weekends out of fear people won’t be happy with me. Sometimes I overcommit because I want to help and make everyone happy – but what ends up happening is I spread myself too thin. 

One of my favorite quotes to help remind me to keep some boundaries is,

“Never half-ass two things.  Whole-ass one thing” – Ron Swanson.

It reminds me to stop saying yes to things that aren’t the one thing I want to “whole-ass”.

Decide what type of self-care you want to implement

Do you need relaxation?  More fun? Nourishment for your mind or body?  It could be a combination of the above. For example, you could want to implement giving yourself one face sheet mask for 20-30 minutes each week, which is both relaxing and nourishing for your skin.

Set up your environment to make it easy to start

Getting started isn’t just half the battle, it’s the hardest part of the battle.  So let’s make some adjustments to your environment so you have fewer obstacles in the way nudging you in the wrong direction.

If you are wanting to work out, make sure you have clean workout clothes.  Especially if you want to work out first thing in the morning, lay out everything you need the night before.  Let’s say you are going to the gym, get all of your gym clothes, including your socks in one place. Get your water bottle, locker lock, gym shoes, headphones, in your gym back.  If you need to charge your wireless headphones, place your gym bag near the charger so you don’t forget them.

Drop unrealistic expectations

This typically applies to those of us who want to implement portion control or exercising for self-care.  Often times we can be hard on ourselves when we start a new physical activity or change our eating habits. Ever feel pissed off while huffing and puffing in one of your first workouts?  Yeah, me too. Why do we expect ourselves to automatically be at a level 10? Why is it so wrong to start at a level 1 and not feel bad about it?

You want to fall in love with the process and the journey, not the destination.  If you remove the expectations of the activity and give yourself small rewards just for doing it, it can help make your self-care have less pressure and turn into a habit.

Remember…

Get ready for a cliche – you can’t pour from an empty cup.

There is never going to be a perfect time to get started.

Create healthy boundaries for yourself and others so you can allow yourself the space you need for self-care.

Decide what type of self-care you need and want to implement first?

Then set up your environment to make it easier for you to add that activity into your life.

Drop unrealistic expectations when implementing your self-care. Be comfortable with being new at something and not knowing what you are doing.

Did you find this useful?  Don’t keep it a secret. I would love it if you would share it with a friend, colleague or loved one.  It is the biggest compliment you can give me.