When most of us think about self-care, we think about taking ourselves off to the spa to be pampered or reading a good cup with a hot chocolate to relax at the end of a busy day, but self-care isn’t always fun. Sometimes, taking better care of ourselves is about doing things we may not enjoy so that the rest of our lives can run more smoothly.
With that in mind, below are some aspects of self-care that might not immediately inspire you or have the fun factor but are equally as crucial as doing yoga or learning to meditate.
Here are a few things to consider when looking at the less fun side of self-care
Attending medical appointments
Most of us don’t particularly enjoy going to the doctor’s office, but if you want to take good care of yourself, you need to ensure you book your flu vaccine in time for the winter season or have a regular check-up to ensure you are doing okay. As they say, prevention is always better than cure.
Setting boundaries
It is not always easy to set boundaries, but doing so is one of the best ways to protect your mental health. For example, you may need to give up friendships that drag you down more often than they lift you, or you may need to learn how to say no to various commitments that suck your tie but give you a little reward. Boundaries protect your health and well-being, so they are a big part of self-care.
Fixing your diet
You are, as they say, what you eat, so one thing that will help you to improve your self-care is fixing your diet. Eliminating junk food and any dishes that cause you to feel sluggish and bloated after eating is an excellent place to start, but eating clean most of the time is even better. It’s not always easy to eliminate the bad stuff from your diet because that is often the stuff you love the most, but nourishing yourself with healthy food is one of the greatest acts of self-care there is.
Taking time out
Suppose you are the kind of person who loves to keep busy, whether pushing yourself at work or always being busy around the house. In that case, it can be hard to let go and do nothing for a whole, but taking time out is one of the best things you can do for your body and mind, which is why it is sometimes considered a less fun form of self-care. Of course, there are those of us who love nothing more than to relax too!
Fixing your finances
Drawing up a budget and working on fixing your finances so you don’t have to worry about money, can be time-consuming and complex, but it removes at least one stress point from your life.
As you can see, self-care is about taking care of your whole life, making things as easy as possible for yourself, and often this means tackling tedious or complex tasks, so be sure to factor in the less fun side of self-care too.