How good are you at taking care of yourself? I mean really taking care of yourself – carving out some time to nourish and replenish, which can do wonders for your personal energy. Do you really make the time to do that?
While many of us recognise the importance of self-care, we often don’t prioritise actually creating the space to include this in our daily lives. We might even think of making time for self-care as some kind of self-indulgence. In reality, the better care we take of ourselves, the more capacity we have to support others. We can only do this when our energy is overflowing, rather than depleted.
When we are busy or out and about, we can forget even the basic levels of self-care such as getting enough sleep, exercise, healthy foods, and stillness. This can mean we get irritable and stressed about all the fun plans and arrangements we have made with our time instead, and end up not enjoying them as much as we might.
If we build self-care into our priorities, our energy is better and we are able to be present, allowing us to really connect with the people we are seeing and get the energy boosts we need from these connections and outings. This means these experiences add to our energy pool and boost us, rather than exhausting us.
Many of us could reel off lists of things ‘people do’ for self-care, but do you know how to target the exact energy that needs replenishment? If it isn’t what you really need right now your motivation to do it will be even less!
If you would like to soothe your emotional energy, try out some belly breathing or the ‘legs against the wall’ yoga pose.
You could spend time with someone who nourishes your soul if your spirit energy is in need of replenishment. Or, bring more beauty into your life by going to beautiful places, noticing the magnificence and really soaking it in. You could just make your home environment more beautiful. Even doing your nails counts here!
If your mental energy is in need of a re-boot you can use active mindfulness. Doing a task you need to concentrate on like painting, DIY, or vinyasa yoga will occupy your mind fully so there is no space for it to think about other things, allowing for it to get the regeneration it needs.
Sleep is one of the most underutilised acts of self-care available to us and is perfect for replenishing your physical energy. Why not plan to have a week of great sleep? Think through your week ahead and the choices you will need to make to ensure this actually happens.
Do you know which of your energies most needs some self-care? Why not take our quiz to get a bespoke understanding of your personal energy? Use your results to nourish your approach to self-care and uplift each of your energies!
Download the free My PowerBar app for joy booster tips here.
Energise You – SuperCharge Your Life: Online Course
Energise Organisations & Teams – Free webinars
Originally published at mypowerbar.co.uk