Self-care is necessary in everyday life but even more so in these trying times of a pandemic. In a time of uncertainty, it’s important to take the time to take care of ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually. How we cope during this time is entirely up to us.
Social distancing and isolation does not mean zero communication with the outside world. In fact, now is when it is essential to communicate with family, friends, and neighbors and we are so blessed to have the tools to do so. We have the capability of using our phones, email, text, and social media to stay connected to one another. We just have to be careful with who we communicate with doing this time. We want to stay connected with people who are calm and positive because what we all need now is good energy.
The virus is not the enemy so try not to look at it that way. We get to choose how this pandemic affects us. While it is normal to feel overwhelmed with all the news being thrown at us, it is the time to choose brave over fear. It’s okay to feel all the bad feelings, but then acknowledge why you’re feeling that way, and let it go. See yourself healthy and happy. This is a life test and the best time to practice manifesting. Reality doesn’t change until we change our thoughts and feelings to match it. What’s the reality you want during this crisis? We cannot change what’s going on the outside until we change what’s going on in the inside. When things don’t go like we want them to go that’s a clue to us that we need to change our thoughts because what we focus on we attract.
Practice feeling better first, if you can master this, you will be ahead of most of the people in the world. It literally is my best advice to anyone but it is also the hardest to do and needs to be practiced constantly. How do we practice feeling better first? The following is a list to help you get started.
• When incorporating self-care into your life it is important to maintain your normal routine and slowly start adding new things to it. This helps you to not go into overwhelm. Find things that calm you down and bring enjoyment into your life because those are the tools you will need to drive away fear.
• Ideas to add to your daily routine: exercise, meditation, journaling, reading, gardening, walking, cooking, taking a technology break, hot bath/shower, fostering a dog or cat, starting a hobby, de-cluttering, games/puzzles, create a spa day at home, plan a vacation, watch funny movies, daily gratitude, mindful eating, sleep 7-8 hours, drink lots of water, take vitamins, or say no more often.
• Self-Care Tool Kit. While it is important to change unhealthy habits and environments, it is also important to have what I like to call, a rescue toolkit. A kit that has all you need to center yourself, even if it is just for a moment, to get yourself back to where you need to be. A Self-Care Toolkit isbasically a few items that help you calm down, get creative, breathe (because we forget to do this when we need it most), take a break from the chaos, listen and learn, get back to what is important, be grateful, and watch what you put into your mind and body to name a few. Your toolkit will contain things you need to find your center. The following are examples you can include in your kit: vision journal, favorite quotes/affirmations, stress ball, fiction or non-fiction book, soft blanket, essential oils, music, write yourself a love letter.
• Happiness Jar – Every day write one thing that made you happy that day and place it in a jar or vase. Make sure you date each one. At the end of this pandemic, read them all and recognize if there’s a pattern on what things made you the happiest. I challenge you to incorporate those things into your life going forward. We must all come out of this with a better understanding of what makes us happy and then start living it. Otherwise, we miss the whole point the universe is trying to teach us.
While this pandemic is real and affecting the entire world, one thing is for certain, this too shall pass and the more we take care of ourselves the better off we will all be.