I regularly talk to and teach people about self-care, particularly strategies that involve shifting the way we talk to ourselves and taking time out to get out of our own self-sabotaging way. I talk to people about breathing techniques, being mindful, practicing self-compassion and giving ourselves permission slips. These simple yet effective strategies are immensely useful and can help us navigate all sorts of challenges in daily life.
However, it’s really easy to forget to do them. I personally often find myself embarking on different situations without even a nano seconds thought about how I might support myself on the inside through the experience. It’s easy to go on holiday or go meet a friend for dinner or head into a work meeting without first prepping ourselves around how we might self-care through the situation.
I’ve started to encourage myself, and others, to think about self-care strategies as part of our ‘kit’. When we go into a meeting we might bring our computer, our phone, our diary, our note book, and in addition to that it’d be really helpful to bring along a little note to support ourselves, or a reminder to take our time and breathe, or a note about how our self-sabotage might de-rail us so we can keep an eye out for it if and when it shows up through the meeting.
The same goes in our social lives too, we remember our bags, our swimmers, our passport, and it’s key to remember our self-compassion as well, or a book about mindfulness, or a regular reminder on the phone to do 5 minutes of yoga each morning.
We easily remember the practical, physical things, but it’s important to remember to pack our emotional and psychological support as well.
Self-care is part of our equipment, if we’re going to navigate life in a way that feels fulfilling and healthy then we need to remember to bring our tools along.
With love, Hannah and Team Bird
Photo by Oziel Gómez on Unsplash