Ideas

Defintion

Benefits

*There is a summary of self-care (ideas, tips, & more) at the end of this article*

In mainstream society, there is an emphasis on being a good citizen – giving without expectation of reciprocation, and being kind to people regardless of how they treat you.

All of that is fine, but have you noticed that there is more conversation on giving good to other people than there is a mention of giving good to yourself?

Yes, as humans we have to care and look out for each other with kindness and respect.

But what’s more important is to give yourself those same considerations.

Be extra nice to yourself. Go out of the way to make sure that you’re taken care of. Treat yourself good without needing a reason.

This, my dear, is the basis of proper self-care.

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What Is The Definition Of Self-Care?

The Easy Light Sources Definition of self-care is protecting yourself from things that you don’t want to experience.

Simply put, self-care can be defined as taking care of yourself… Beyond the basic needs of food/shelter/clothing… We can assume that you have those things already. It’s not enough to cover the complexities that the human experience is comprised of.

The actual experiences that people feel in life are varied. So, self-care will also be varied according to what each person personally values.

Another definition of self care comes down to what you can do for yourself that creates feelings of self love. These are thing things that not only make you feel good, they also make you feel like an upgraded version of yourself.

Again, and I must emphasize, this will be different for everyone. And that’s okay, there is no judgment here. Stay true to yourself, that’s what’s important.

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Why You Need A Self-Care Plan

A self-care plan will help to keep you protected as effortlessly as possible. Doing so will constantly keep you above the parts of life that you don’t want to be apart of.

In this world, there are millions of external programs, news, ideas, games, works, etcetera that can be focused on. All of these things can leave you neglected in many ways.

Most times, we can only do one thing at a time. Being consumed by other people’s created content is easy.

That’s not a bad thing, it just makes it easy for your own to-do list to fall by the wayside.

Having a self care plan allows your care to become a regular thing, on autopilot, so to speak. You’ll still have to put forth the effort to put yourself first but it’s easy when it’s something that you regularly do.

Remember: taking care of yourself is an expression of self-love!

People who regularly practice self-care are adding value to the world just by adding value to themselves.

Those who practice self-care:

• Are more emotional balanced
• Experience inner happiness
• Display value without words
• Are better able to help others, even if they’re not going out of their way to do so
• Garner more respect from others because they outwardly respect themselves
• Have peace as a constant experience

The only reason you need to practice self-care is the fact that you love yourself and you want to enhance your life experience for the better.

Self-Care Tips and Ideas

The typical tips and suggestions of expressing self care usually focused on leisurely grooming habits. Ie:

• Take a long, hot bath with bubbles, bath bombs & essential oils,
• Do a facial,
• Paint your nails,
• Get a massage,
• Let a professional wash your hair,
• Etc

These things are good because they make you feel special.

If taking a bubble bath raises your spirit considerably then you should do it as often as you can.

Self-care and self-love practices are more than just the physical practices. The best self-care is when you are protecting yourself from negative energy and experiences. That includes your own negative energy. You want to protect yourself from negative thoughts and detrimental habits.

Always thinking positive is an ideal trait. There is strength in having an optimistic outlook without delusion.

Self-care translates to self-respect when you outwardly protect yourself from other people’s negative energy and experiences. If there are negative words being directed to you or something that you love, you will need to use your words to protect yourself. Speak up and don’t let someone be a bully. It may feel uncomfortable at the time but being meek can make you feel uncomfortable a lot longer…

Being smart with your self-care will also tell you when to walk away from bad situations. You don’t have to enter every door that you’re invited to. Take care of yourself as a priority.

Here are some more self-care ideas:

• Listen to uplifting music,
• Do a happy dance when you’re happy,
• Allow yourself to cry when you need to,
• Don’t be sad for longer than a couple of hours,
• Read more books on subjects that interest you,
• Smell flowers that you see (literally smell them)
• Smile and wave at children,
• Celebrate when you see someone win,
• Give out high fives when appropriate,
• Create something that you believe in,
• Practice patience daily,
• Be courageous,
• Be proactive about what you want to accomplish in your life,
• Daily meditation
• Exercise

For more self-care ideas, you will have to look within yourself and recognize what you need. Not what you want, but what you need. Unhealthy desserts may fill a want but if you need to be healthy in your life then be honest about what energy you’re feeding.

Positive Songs With Self-Care Lyrics

Ideally, a person will create their own playlist of their favorite songs that have good energy and no hate-lyrics.

If you like songs with hate-lyrics, don’t play it on repeat. Listen to it once or twice and use that play time to release your own negative energy.

Speaking back on self-care and self-love lyrical songs, here are a few that I can think of immediately:

• The Greatest Love Of All by Whitney Houston
• All Songs by Cambatta, namely, The Shaman, No Fear & DMT
• Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson
• Say You, Say Me – Lionel Richie
• Fire Away – Naill Horan
• You Got A Friend – Roberta Flack
• Diamonds – Rihanna
• Amazing – Kanye West

And more, this is not a conclusive list! It’s more than lyrics that matter, the whole vibration has to speak to you positively, the instruments played, the tone of the singer…

Show Yourself Love And Care Through What You Consume

Consuming in a literal sense is wanting that stimulates the senses:

• What you taste on your tongue,
• What you hear,
• What you smell,
• What your see,
• What you feel.

These things can be positive or negative. They can make you feel good, or they can make you feel bad. Usually it is easy to tell the difference between the two.

Gulity Pleasures make it hard to tell if you’re harming yourself long-term for a short-term pleasure.

Once in a while, go ahead and indulge. The keywords there are once in a while.
The goal is to be healthy as much as you can be – healthy inside and out. That way, it wont cause too much damage to go into a guilty pleasure.

Unhealthy guilty pleasures on a daily basis are just bad decisions and low self control…

This article is nearing the end so I want to go back over how we consume things with our senses and how we can consciously protect ourselves with our senses in mind:

• Taste– Consuming foods that will protect your body from illness instead of eating things that contributing to illness.
• Sight – Looking at things that make you feel good and inspired instead of seeing things that disturb you.
• Touch – Physically giving your skin an experience that is luxurious or pleasant instead of causing uncomfortable feelings or scars.
• Hear – Listening to positive messages or uplifting content versus content that makes you feel down or negative.
• Smell – There are some scents that make people feel high, these also can harm your lungs, brain, and other organs. No high is worth that.

If the things that you like are detrimental then you really need to consider how much you value yourself and how much damage you’re actually doing. Every once in a while it’s not so bad, especially if you make healthy decisions most of the time.

What If Nothing In This Article Helps You?

If you find these tips to be unhelpful to your self-care journey and you do not feel increased self-love, you may need to go deeper within yourself to find out what you need to feel cared for and protected.

A professional therapist has the training that you need. Please get help, everyone deserves to feel loved.

If you can’t afford a therapist then you owe it to yourself to try to take care of yourself the best that you can. See the good in everything and you’re already halfway there!

The Summary:

• Self-Care is showing yourself love and protecting yourself from negative experiences.
• People who practice self-care are happier, and garner more respect by displaying value onto themselves.
• Creating a self-care plan will protect you in everyday life.
• Good Ideas for Self-Care stem from what brings you good feelings. Choose the practices that will bring you short-term pleasure and long-term value.
• Consume content that inspires you, teaches you, and makes you dance.
• Eating well is self-care.
• People who value themselves are more valued by others.
• If you’re in need of further assistance, seek therapy. If you cannot afford a therapist, work harder to seek the good in life.