It is a common thing in this day and era to find busy women who hardly have on their fingers to spare. You might think that this only happens to women who have children; you are wrong. There are several women out there who are career minded and are busy pushing their businesses to the next level, and they have refused to settle down or even have children until they achieve their goals.
For such women, their schedules can be quite hectic, some wake up at 4 a.m., and by the time they retire to bed, they are worn out. This makes it very hard for them to take care of themselves. In this digital area, where everything is going online, most women do not even remember to comb their hair because after all, they are working in the house. Some work in their pajamas, every day, because they are so busy working, they forget to take care of themselves.
In other words, no matter what reason one has for being busy, most of them are so taxed, they rarely, if ever, find time to take care of themselves. If you feel you fit in this description, here are a few self-care practices that will sort you out.
Self-love is all about treating yourself the same you would wish to be treated by your romantic partner, that is whether you have that romantic partner or not.
It is about being kind to yourself, falling in love with yourself every single day, accepting yourself fully with all your flaws and imperfections, taking time to listen to your inner self, your inner desires, feelings, fears and dreams and making sure you check each of these boxes.
Thing is, how do you cultivate a connected, loving relationship with yourself? How do you balance family, career, and self-time? It is simple, by breaking it down into simple, practical step by step actions because you see, just like love, self-care is a practice, and it is a verb. It is something you do.
See, for the longest time, we all got entangled in this myth that love is something you receive from someone else, in this case, a partner. This assumed concept of love has got so many people to fail to realize that how they entirely hold power to feel loved and cared for. It right in your hand’s folks.
Have you ever noticed how a jilted partner tends to neglect themselves? They suddenly feel that one person who loved them so much has rejected. They find no reason to visit the saloon; suddenly their look takes a downward spiral, some even resort to drugs because they attached their self-love so much to another human being, which is so wrong. It is wrong for us women to wait to be loved by someone else; this is something that you must cultivate. Give it yourself; you have that power. Once you do this, you will notice a change, right from inside out.
Question is, how do you do it? Well, let us look at five simple steps to kick start your self‒love journey.
Eat Healthily
It is essential that no matter how busy you get, you remember to take care of your body. Personally, when my schedules become tight, the first thing I always push aside is exercise and healthy foods, I still find myself going for quick meals because I don’t have time to cook. Self-care should go beyond going for movies, taking bubble baths (much as they are important too), it is all about taking care of yourself in all ways, physically, mentally, spiritually. You will surprise that when you have that balance in life, you will tend to be more confident, productive, healthy, and yes, be even more respected. Take care of yourself, love you, pamper you and the rest will follow.
Treat Yourself
After a month of hard work, sleepless nights, when you get that paycheck, do not forget to treat yourself. You can buy yourself a small gift, chocolates, go for a weekend getaway, take yourself for lunch, or a cup of coffee, go out and dance and let loose, take a Sunday off just to stay in and relax and just watch the world go by and you will thank yourself you did that.
Start And End Your Day With Love.
Practice self-love rituals, this can be something as simple as starting your day with reading a book, listening to a motivational speaker, yoga or watching an inspiring talk as you snack on your healthy breakfast. Remember to end your day the same way, just taking off five minutes to do some yoga stretches, dancing around, to get rid of the days stress and tension. If you still have more time to your sleeves, you can lie on your bed to meditate on your day and take a few minutes to think of the things you are grateful for. Whatever it is, make sure it is on a lighter note.
Pamper Yourself
You can be creative with this. What is It that you think if your partner did for you, you would feel loved? Do it for yourself. Prepare breakfast in bed, take yourself for movies, go on a date, go for that morning run, join a yoga class next to you, and fall in love with yourself madly. There is a lot you can for yourself, do your nails, or better still have someone do them for you, develop a reading culture, stay in your pyjamas the whole watching your favorite movies, how about that?
Learn When To Say No.
This goes without saying that most of the busy ladies find it hard to say no, but boy they have no idea how much this affects their lifestyle. We tend to think it is normal and we will handle whatever comes our way, this makes one being overworked and leaving us no time to focus on our wellbeing. Be it as it may, saying no sometimes is healthy as it allows you time to reduce stress and lessen your daily schedules. Stop being a people pleaser by saying yes all the time. Taking too much than you can handle is unhealthy, and it will leave you worn out. Politely say no to things you feel you cannot manage. You do not always have to say no, but it is essential to know your schedules and to learn wisely how to say no and yes.
Whichever way, make yourself a priority. Keep it simple and always avoid over-committing. For maximum results, commit to one thing at a time, give it a week, record it in a diary or put a reminder on the fridge, get a day and time when you will be doing it, after mastering it, you can head to the second item. It is a process, it will take time, hard work and determination but the results are worth it.