In my last post I introduced you to the way I think self-care should be viewed; in a few words I think self-care is about making sure you are full to the point of overflowing in the different areas of your life. I identified 9 key areas of our lives that I think need special attention in order for us to flourish in our self-care routines. The areas are:
1. Physical
2. Emotional/Mental
3. Social
4. Spiritual
5. Personal
6. Space
7. Financial
8. Work
9. Service
In this blog post I will be looking at the different life areas in more detail, which will help you to lay firm foundations for your own personal self-care plan.
Physical
Physical activity is extremely important for both our body and mind. 2020 was such a difficult year in many ways, one of them being the fact that our movements were severely restricted. At the height of lockdown we couldn’t go outside for more than one hour a day, gyms, swimming pools, exercise classes were all closed, so the opportunity to get a lot of physical activity outside of your house was slim. But physical self-care is not simply centred around exercise (bearing in mind there are plenty of exercises you can do indoors) there are also a number of other attributes that come under the banner of physical self-care and so when you are looking to fill your physical self-care cup consider the following:
-Sleep
-Stretching
-Exercise
-Dancing
-Walking
-Rest
-Healthy Food
-Eating regularly
-Drinking water
-Sunlight
-Massage
-Regular Check-ups
-Laughter
-Healthy sex life
Emotional/Mental
How are you feeling? Really think about the question, 2020 was such a draining year, we were unable to connect with loved ones, friends, families and colleagues in the way we have been use to for our entire lives. This has had a massive impact on our emotional and mental wellbeing and it is vital that we are regularly ‘checking in’ with ourselves and gaining support from others when we need it. When thinking about emotional and mental health and how to fill those cups, consider the following:
-Stress management
-Developing emotional intelligence
-Emotional maturity
-Forgiveness (yourself and others)
-Compassion
-Kindness
-Counselling/therapy
-Validating your feelings
-Boundaries
-Positive relationships
-Healthy Sex life
Social
It is important to spend quality time with and around people who feed and fortify you and who you can do the same to. Again 2020 made that very difficult but where it is possible, take the opportunity to work on filling your social self-care cup. When doing so consider the following:
-Positive time together with positive people
-Building your support systems
-Positive social media (don’t be afraid to unfollow accounts that no longer serve you in a positive way)
-Positive communication
-Playing team sports
-Taking up a hobby
-Going out to eat with friends
Spiritual
As I am a Christian I will be talking about filling your spiritual cup from that perspective, but of course you can relate the methods to whichever faith or spiritual practices you follow, or just skip this cup if you are not a follower of any faith. For so many people the world over their faith in God provides a great source of strength, hope, love and encouragement. Like all the other areas of your life, you can experience spiritual burnout and need to ensure you are working to keep that cup full. When thinking about keeping you cup full you should consider the following:
-Time along with God
-Meditating on the word of God
-Prayer
-Prayer journaling
-Spending time in nature
-Praise & Worship
-Bible Study
-Attending church services
-Building your spiritual gifts
-Serving in church
Personal
How many of us really take the time to get to know ourselves? I mean really explore who we are, to get to know what we like and what we need. Look into our history, our culture, our upbringing and piece together the story of ourselves. It can be so easy to put others before ourselves, get lost in serving others, but we have to priorities ourselves otherwise we will be no use to anyone. I believe it is vital to build a strong sense of self and really get to know who you are. As someone who grew up in a single parent family and had no contact with my father I always wondered about the Mauritian side of my family. My mum did her absolute best to bring up my siblings and I, but there was always a piece missing that I needed to reconnect with and once I did so many things started to fall into place for me in terms of who I am. This may not be your experience but I am sure that there are aspect of yourself and your character that you would greatly benefit from developing and showing more love and attention to. When thinking about filling your personal cup consider the following:
-Hobbies
-Exploring Culture
-Travel
-Exploring and developing your beliefs
-Exploring and developing your World views
-Exploring and developing your likes & dislikes
-Exploring and developing your style
-Exploring and developing your hopes/dreams/fears
-Personal Identity
-Honouring yourself
-Education
Space
If you live in a city, a flat, if you house share you know what it feels like to be cramped for space. I believe it is vital to have a positive space to relax in, to express yourself, somewhere that you can call your own. Having a relaxing organised space will also help aid in your creativity and encourage you to rest. When thinking about filling your space cup, consider the following:
-Safety
-Healthy Living environment
-Security & stability
-Organisation
-Colours
-Style & Design
-Decluttering
Financial
How many of us had financial training at school? I’m pretty sure 100% of us would say we didn’t. Many of us have seen our parents, family members and friends struggle with money and from conversations I have had with friends and family I have seen that a lot of us still struggle with managing our money. Mismanagement of money can cause untold stress so the more effort we can put into filling this cup the better. When thinking about filling this cup, consider the following:
-Financial education
-Saving
-Budgeting
-Money Management
-Paying Bills
-Financial goals
-Multiple streams of income
Work
We don’t live to work, we work to live, so it is important to be in a healthy work environment. We spend most of our time at work so it makes sense to invest time in making your work space or place of employment one where you can thrive. We should never be filled with dread at the thought of going to work. When thinking about filling your work cup, consider the following:
-Time management
-Work boundaries
-Positive workspace
-Training & Development
-Break time
-Supportive manager
-Tools to complete your job
Service
When you think of self-care it makes sense that you would tackle things pertaining to yourself. I do however think that service is also a part of self-care because doing something positive for someone else can be extremely fulfilling for you. Giving time to a worthy cause or offering support to someone in need can be an extremely humbling and fulfilling. While it is important to do things for yourself, it is also important to do things for others. When thinking about filling your service cup, consider the following:
-Community service
-Mentoring
-Volunteering
Self-care takes time, commitment and hard work; but we are worth it. You may look at all the different areas to work on and feel overwhelmed but please don’t. Self-care is a day by day, step by step journey. There will be times where you can focus your energy on making sure each area is being filled and times where you may have to scale back and only focus on a few areas and that’s fine. The important thing is that you ensure you are making time for yourself because only you can. Over this year I will be looking at some of the categories in more detail and providing you with different methods which should help you to fill your cups.
I would love to hear what you think about the points I have raised and if there are any other categories I have missed out. Take care of yourselves!
Check Out Some Of My Other Blog Posts On Self Care
An Introduction to Self Care Part 1
13 Ways To Practice Self Care At Work
9 Habits To Transform Your Life
