Ready to Prioritize Self-Care? 3 Ways to Begin

Self-care—the art of attuning and responding to your needs and desires, moment to moment—is not about adding something to your to-do list, it’s about cultivating a new way of being with yourself. ~ Renee Trudeau

Recently, while speaking at a national conference on the topic of self-care and resiliency, I connected with a couple who are both working from home full-time, juggling child care and really struggling. The dad shared, “I know self-care is important, but I have no idea what I need and I’m not even sure where to start! Any advice?”

I loved this question and I offered him the following three “baby steps” to begin cultivating the ability to check-in on what he needs in the moment:

1. Morning body scan. When you first wake up in the morning, pause before you jump out of bed. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths and slowly scan your body from the crown of your head down to your shoulders, your torso, your hips, knees, feet and reflect on What do I most need today to feel nourished? It could be in the physical, emotional or spiritual realm. Sometimes my body says, “Kale!” and often it’s, “You need to bump that afternoon meeting to next week; you’re seriously over-scheduled!”
2. Tune-in. Research in the area of self-compassion tells us that nurturing self-touch has a significant impact on our ability to feel kinder towards ourselves. Throughout your day, pause, put a hand on the center of your chest and ask, “What do I need?”  The more you do this, the more natural it starts to feel.  You can even do this in the middle of a work meeting or in the thick of a family dinner; attuning to what you need moment to moment takes practice, but it’s the first step towards cultivating a daily practice.
3. “Quickie” journaling. My favorite journaling exercise for whenever I feel out of alignment, overwhelmed or anxious, is simply pausing to check-in on these three questions (I keep a journal and pen in my car and in my purse at all times): How do I feel? What do I need? What do I want? Women around the world who participated in our monthly women’s self-renewal circles have been asking these three simple questions for two decades—it’s amazing how effective they are for helping you quickly reconnect to your needs and desires. My husband likes this exercise, too!

If you’re just starting a self-care practice, remember: baby steps, be curious and invite in self-compassion. Believing you are worthy of self-care—that it’s your birthright—is a radical stance and takes courage. Ask for help and choose to be around people who are also making their self-care a priority. The self-care pebbles we drop in our pond today, create ripples for generations to come.

Warmly,

WANT SUPPORT FOR PRIORITIZING YOUR SELF-CARE? HERE ARE FOUR OPPORTUNITIES: