What is self-care, and why should I practice it in my life?

Self-care is simply taking care of yourself. Without it, no one would be able to do anything else. If you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t do anything else either. Think about what that would be like for a second. So, what are some simple self-care ideas?

There are many simple ways to practice self-care. Think of it like this — anything you do for yourself is self-care. Personal hygiene? Self-care. Buying something for yourself just because? Self-care. Journaling to get all your heavy thoughts out of your head? Self-care!

Well, I’ve got you covered, because in this blog post, I’m going to go over 5 simple self-care ideas to get you started on your self-care journey.

Journaling

Journaling is probably something you’re familiar with, whether you’ve been doing it since childhood or were prescribed to start doing it by a therapist. Either way, this is a simple self-care idea that will really improve your life.

Personally, I love journaling, because there are so many ways you can go about it. I used to journal in a notebook, old-fashioned, pen and paper style. I can’t do that anymore because of how badly my hands cramp up, so now I type either on my phone or on my computer and that works much better for me.

Take a look outside, and write what you see. Look at your family, write about what they’re doing. Did your friend say something funny to you? Write it down! Memories are precious and are always changing in our minds, so it’s important to capture the ones we want. Even sometimes the ones we don’t want.

Journaling is a fantastic way to work through life’s problems. Getting everything out on paper and out of your head is so cathartic, and one of the simplest forms of self-care that there is.

Meditation

Another simple self-care idea is to pick up meditation. Now, I know it seems scary and not so simple at first, but there are plenty of ways to meditate that are very simple and non-intimidating.

Using meditation apps, for example, is the way I got into meditation. They teach you different techniques and walk you through each one, and before you know it, you’re meditating.

Here are a few examples of techniques. One is called “visualization” and it’s where you, well, visualize something. For example, you can visualize (when it’s time for bed), that all your muscles are shutting off for the night. Or, (in the middle of the day), imagine your body is slowly filling with sunlight and making you warm.

Another one is called “noting”. For this one, you just sit with yourself and let yourself think and feel things, and when you do, you organize them into “thoughts” and “feelings”. I like to visualize two sides in my head separated by a line, and I “slide” each thought or feeling to the side they’re supposed to go.

These simple techniques are GREAT for self-care. They help you check in with your body, mind, and spirit — making sure everything is okay in all areas. And, if it isn’t, then it gives you the opportunity to recognize that and work on it.

Affirmations

Affirmations are a SUPER simple self-care idea — they might actually be the most simple of all the simple self-care ideas.

All you do is pick an affirmation and say it to yourself. You can even meditate on it. This is how I do that: I close my eyes, breathe deeply a couple of times, and then say my affirmation to myself a couple of times over. For example, the quote I have on my blog — “You are capable of more than you know.”

This is such a powerful practice. If you get into the habit of doing this every day, I guarantee that you will start to feel better about yourself.

Here are some affirmations to get you started:

• “I am capable of more than I know.”
• “My body is perfect just the way it is.”
• “My brain is perfect just the way it is.”
• “I am healthy and I attract wellness.”
• “I am wealthy and I attract riches.”

Take these and customize them to be something that works for you and your current situation. Sometimes people use them as a way to “fake it ’til they make it”, but I like to think of it as claiming what is already yours. If you speak something into existence, it’s bound to come true!

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a really important exercise that everyone should incorporate into their self-care routine. But what exactly is mindfulness? How do I practice it?

Mindfulness is just being present in your body. It is understanding that yes, you feel sad, or yes, you feel angry, and that those emotions are okay to feel. You don’t do this in order to try and change your emotions as you might like to, because it is impossible. You can’t change something that is already naturally flowing. And, honestly, you shouldn’t. Hard emotions are important to the human experience.

If you are feeling a hard emotion, let yourself sit in it. I know that feels like the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve here, but go with me on this. Once you sit in your emotion, you can recognize it. Once you recognize it, you can put a name to it, and once you put a name to it, you can understand it. Why are you feeling this way? What can I do to comfort myself in this moment?

Once you get to that place, that’s when the self-care can begin.

Practice the 5 Love Languages on Yourself

Think of it like the 5 love languages: physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, and, finally, gift-giving. If these things are okay to do for other people, they are okay to do for yourself.

But how? I’m going to give you examples for each one, and just do what comes naturally to you.

Physical Touch

• Hug yourself.
• Pat yourself on the head, arm, or shoulder.
• Boop your nose.
• Hold your own hand.

Now, this may feel a bit awkward at first. But hey, no one is saying you have to go do this in public. Do it somewhere where you’re alone and won’t be judged. But, I promise, if your love language is physical touch, this will make you feel better on some level, and that can be considered self-care.

Words of Affirmation

We basically already went over this one! This one is all about speaking kindly to yourself and building yourself up. Go back and look at the examples from before. You can write these down somewhere you will see it often (or, hey, in your journal!), or you can speak them out loud to yourself in the mirror (you can also just think them, though, don’t worry). Do whatever makes you comfortable.

Make a habit of speaking kindly to yourself, even when you aren’t doing affirmations. This is a HUGE part of self-compassion, which is a huge part of self-care. My best friend tells me to talk to myself like I’m talking to her, which basically means, I would never say the things I say to myself that I would say to her. I think about that every day, and it helps me a lot.

Acts of Service

This one is all about taking care of important things in your life, like getting the groceries or filling up the gas in your car. This can seem like a pretty boring thing to do for yourself, or even an annoying thing. But, these things are important nad have to be done to continue living as normal.

If you do them with an attitude of doing something important for yourself, something that will help you take care of yourself in the long. run, it makes these things easier.

Quality Time

I bet you’re thinking, “Why do I need to spend quality time with myself? Am I not with myself every day?” But the thing is, we’re doing stuff we most likely don’t want to do all day long. Work, for example. You’re not really spending time ith yourself when you’re working your ass off at work.

So, how do I spend time with myself then? By doing something you like with yourself! Go see a movie, paint a picture, take a walk in nature — anything like that. See the difference? You can actually listen to your own thoughts and have meaningful conversations with yourself this way, and that’s really important for self-care.

Gift-Giving

Now, you might think this is a shallow way to take care of yourself, but I bet you don’t think that way when it’s your best friend’s birthday and you want to get them a gift! Society teaches us not to value ourselves, and that’s why we think of getting ourselves presents as us being vain and it makes us feel guilty. No more of that, I say! Get yourself those earrings! Buy that fancy coffee!

Believe it or not, you deserve it. Sometimes, taking care of yourself looks like getting yourself a new pair of comfy pajamas so that you can relax in them while you read a book (this comes back to quality time!).

In Conclusion…

Self-care is a simple practice that can improve your life with just a few simple techniques.

If none of the things in this post connect with you, think of something you could do for yourself that you’ve been wanting to. Maybe you’ve wanted to do something different with your hair, or maybe you simply want to try a new cereal from the grocery store. Whatever it is, do it! Like I said before, if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anything or anyone else.

I hope you found something here that’s helpful to you!

Thanks for reading!

— Bee <333