“Self-care is important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”

-Eleanor Brown

You’re overwhelmed at work. You have a ton of projects piling up at home, the kids to look after, and your calendar is packed with overdue tasks. To make room for all of it, you’re skipping meals, don’t even think about a workout, and date night? What’s that?! When we’re in this position, self-care is usually the last thing on our priority list.

Most of us grew up believing that the more you sacrifice, the bigger your reward will be. It’s way too easy to take the “hard work pays off” motto too far and to the point that it becomes counterproductive. Your abilities are worn. You lose focus and you’re not as sharp. You might think you’re working hard, but you’re no longer working efficiently.

The easy thing to do is to forget to take care of ourselves because when we’re busy and overwhelmed, even a small break feels like a luxury. Actually taking time to eat, have a conversation with a friend or take the dog for a walk feels like you’re slacking off.

Self-care isn’t just important – it’s crucial.

When you take care of yourself, you make yourself feel safe. The world we live in, between social media, the news, and everything going on in it just generally doesn’t make us feel safe. Our nerves can be absolutely shot. But when we do something to take care of ourselves, we slow down, we’re kinder, we’re gentler, and more loving – not just to ourselves, but everyone around us. We’re sending ourselves a message of safety and security. And that is ONLY a good thing in an age of anxiety.

Here are a few self-care tips to help you feel your best.

SLEEP…

Well, obviously this is something that we all need, but so many of us aren’t getting enough of it, or not quality sleep. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.

The way you feel during the day depends on what happens while you’re sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. The damage from lack of sleep can occur instantly, or it can cause harm over time. Chronic sleep problems can cause serious, long term health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.

Your deepest, most restorative sleep takes place between 10PM and 2AM. To feel your best, it’s recommended that you get 7-8 hours of consistent sleep. GET YOUR Zzzzzzsss!

GET LOST in a BOOK or MOVIE… 

As important as it is to get your personal development in, sometimes it’s JUST as needed to read or watch something for pleasure. Whatever that is for you, within reason, don’t hesitate to read that book from start to finish, or binge watch your favorite show on Netflix.

HUGS…

YES! Hugs are PROVEN to increase oxytocin – that hormone that helps with bonding, your mood, and behavior. So find your spouse, your kids, OR your fur baby and get to hugging!

Love,

M

Make sure to check out a couple of the things that I use to help ME with my own self-care!

[one_half_first]doTerra Clary Calm Essential Oil[/one_half_first][one_half_last]Sleep Master Sleep Mash[/one_half_last]