How do you look after yourself? Do you routinely put yourself
first? As number one, above anyone
or anything else? Does this to
you, sound selfish? What if I told
you, that to take care of others, you must take care of yourself? Would you believe me? Think about it… If you let yourself go,
emotionally and physically, would you be the best version of yourself? Would this emotionally and or
physically sick person be the person that YOUR loved ones deserve? I don’t think so. Think of yourself like a car, to
function properly you must maintain it, run it, service it and fuel it with the
good stuff. What happens if you
fill up a car with dirty fuel?
Enough of the crap and the car ‘gets sick’. Just like us human beings.
So what can you do to look after
YOURSELF? Here I go, think about
my list. These are things that you
need to do to look after YOURSELF.
They are things that will help you to live a healthier and happier life.
1.
Spend time
with the right people. These are
the people who love and appreciate you.
They go out of their way to look after you and encourage you to be the
best person that you can be. They
embrace you unconditionally as the person you are and will support you on your
journey to be the best that you can be.
2.
Stop running
and face your problems. If you are
anything like myself, you have a natural tendency to run from things that scare
you rather than face them head on.
You may think that these things define you as a person. Wrong. I have learned through many ups and downs in life that it
isn’t these problems that define me.
It is the way that I have conducted myself when dealing with them and
the lessons that they have taught me that define me as a person. You choose. Will you run?
Or is it time to be BRAVE?
3.
Make your
own happiness a priority. Your
needs matter. If you do not value, look after, and stand up for yourself, you aren’t really looking after
yourself. YOU deserve to be looked
after, and YOU have the power to do this, it is your responsibility. Remember that by looking after
yourself, you can offer a better version of yourself to your loved ones. It is possible to look after others as
well as yourself at the same time.
4.
Embrace your
individuality. We are all
different and that is what makes us special. Trying to be or aspiring to be anyone else is a waste of
time. Embrace yourself for who you are. Accept yourself.
5.
Stop. Just for a moment every now and
then. We can get so caught up in
our busy day-to-day lives that we forget to live. Live in the present and appreciate what you have rather than
focusing solely on what you do not have.
Life is for living and life is right now. Appreciate it.
6.
Be kind to
yourself. Raise your hand if you
have every said any of the following to yourself: you don’t deserve to be
happy, you’re too fat/skinny/short/tall, nobody likes you, you’re a horrible
person who doesn’t deserve friends, nobody loves you… the list of self
sabotaging comments to oneself goes on and on but I’ll leave it there. These mind games are not only NOT TRUE
but by saying these things to yourself, you are slowly destroying
yourself. Sabotaging
yourself. Would you treat your
mother like this? No. Your best friend? Nope, didn’t think
so. So why would you treat
yourself in the same way?
7.
Be honest
with yourself. Enough with the
lies, the stories… the justifications.
Get into the habit of telling yourself the truth. However tough it may be to hear.
8.
Value the
lessons your mistakes teach you.
Every mistake you make teaches you a lesson. Focus on this rather than beating yourself up for the
mistake that was made… I have turned my world upside down and become a totally
new person by learning from my mistakes.
9.
Start forgiving yourself and others. We’ve all been hurt by our own decisions and/or by
others. The pain of these experiences hurts but is normal, however sometimes it
lingers for too long. We relive the pain over and over and have a hard time
letting go. Forgiveness is the cure. It doesn’t mean you’re erasing the past,
or forgetting what happened. It means you’re letting go of the resentment and
pain, and instead choosing to learn from the incident and move on with your
life.
10. If you want something. Go out and get it. Make a plan of how you will get it, and
make it happen! Work for it. If you don’t, you won’t achieve what
ever it is that you want. I know
all too well what it is like to want something really, really badly. You write it down super neatly in brand
new markers, colour code it, illustrate it, laminate it and stick it on the
wall and then cross your fingers and pray to God it will appear before you. When it doesn’t appear you bag the
whole idea and chuck it in the too hard basket claiming it just isn’t
possible’… not for you anyway.
Life doesn’t work like this.
Sorry to burst any bubbles.
If you want something, YOU have to make it happen.
11. People
change. Fact. It sounds harsh but you cannot keep
every friend you have ever made.
People move on and priorities change. There will be people who forget about you and who you forget
about. Appreciate your friends but
remember to be open to new people.
Who knows what that new girl at work could mean to you in a years time?
12. Concentrate on the things you can
control. Not everything can always
go to plan. Sometimes things are
just plain crap and you have to make the best out of a tough situation. Look for the silver lining and control
the controllable. The rest has a
way of figuring itself out.
13. Compete against yourself and nobody else,
they are not you. They do not have
the same strengths and weaknesses that you do. Look in the mirror… that is your competition. Aim to be a better version of yourself.
14. Start creating your own
happiness. If you are waiting for someone else to make you happy, you’re missing out. Smile because you can. Choose happiness. Be
the change you want to see in the world. Be happy with who you are now, and let
your positivity inspire your journey into tomorrow. Happiness is often found
when and where you decide to seek it.
15. Only YOU can control what goes into your mouth. You decide if you are going to fuel your body with good, healthy and nutritious foods or highly processed and preserved junk foods...your call.
So this is a long and heavy list. Reading through it sounds huge and
confronting. Too hard? No it’s not… because YOU ARE WORTH
IT. But the answers are here
(cryptically). Only you have the
answers to your life. Choose one
thing from the list and work hard at it, don’t give up. If you fall down, just get back
up. Once you have achieved it,
choose another. Remember that nothing
happens over night but looking after yourself is the most important thing
because at the end of the day, only you can truly look after YOU.
YOUR life is YOUR responsibility
