Written by: Saeeda Ruffin
Every day brings an opportunity to either be good to yourself or not. Having too many days that you neglect yourself could end up causing you great distress in time. You matter and you deserve to be cared for and treated with love. With all of that, the first person who should attend to your needs is...YOU. That’s right, Sis. Your self-care care is uber important and it should not be left to chance.
When it comes to self-care, people think they will need lots of money, hours and hours of free time, or tons of space to pull it off. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Reality is, the key to self-care is K.I.S.S. -Keep It Simple, Sista. Here are a few ways to make self-care a basic, and easy to execute, part of your life:
Sit Yourself Down
This is as rudimentary as it gets. Simply sit and be in the moment. Set aside 15 minutes at first. Then, periodically, over a few weeks or so, increase the time by adding another 5 minutes to your session. Sitting is a great way to destress and it can be done just about anywhere. For maximum results, sit in a place where you can watch the clouds, look at animals, or just sit and listen to the rain. The goal for this self-care routine is for you to be fully in the moment, allowing yourself a respite from your daily grind, while letting your mind wander.
Show Yourself Love
We all have things that we would love for others to shower us with. Well, get those things for yourself. Don’t just wait for those moments when others are moved to do it. They may be few and far between. Do it now and set time aside to really enjoy your favorite things. Do something nice for you. Flowers, gourmet chocolates, vintage records, herbal tea...it doesn’t matter what you decide to splurge on as long as it makes you feel happy and serene.
Slow Down
Life will have you running from one activity to the next. With appointments, projects, deadlines, and tons of items on that “to do” list, it is completely natural to get accustomed to constantly moving. Sis, that’s not healthy and, eventually, the pressure to always do things can weigh on your body and mind. So, slow down, and give yourself grace to simply “NOT DO” from time to time. Everybody knows that you’re uber productive and you are working toward your goals. That’s all good. But, not at the expense of your health and sanity.
Say “No”
One of the hardest things to do, for some folks, is to tell people, “No”. Everybody has something for you to do. Setting boundaries around your availability and participation is super important. When you concede to everyone else’s whims you are setting unrealistic expectations for yourself and others. Nah, Sis. That can’t work. You deserve more. So, you have to learn to say,
“NO”. Doing so will change your perspective about a lot of things and it will make people acknowledge you and your feelings. Of course, that means a lot! Two little letters, one simple word...say it. Your self-care depends on it.
Never apologize for taking time for yourself. You matter and so does your self-care and that's that on that sis!
