Self-caring Through Self-reflection

Often I see the term 'self-care' taken way too literally, slap on a face-mask and call it a job well done. But it's so much more than that, proper self-care is more than a quick pamper session, it's taking the time to work on yourself and your happiness. 

Truth be told, the pampering can be a huge part, it's a perfect way to relax. It's also multi-faceted- not only are you destressing, you're also clearing up your skin at the same time! Please don't misunderstand this blog as some attack on hair masks and manicures, every Friday night after work I'm in a full grey tracksuit with a clay mask and a cuticle bath. I just want to take an opportunity to point out the deeper levels of self-care, so that whilst the outside is being pampered, the insides getting some pampering of its own. 

Don't worry, I won't say the word 'pampered' again! So internal self-care, what does it involve? In case the blog title wasn't clue enough; it involves a ton of self-reflection. Asking yourself what you want to be, who you want to be, the persona you want to embody, even the hobbies you take up. One of the most amazing things about life is the fact that we are in control of ourselves; we can be exactly who we want to be. You want to be a morning person? Set earlier alarms, start going to bed earlier and build a morning routine that makes you feel excited to get up. 

On the topic of hobbies, I'd like to quote a brilliant post I saw on Instagram by the account @keys4success___. The post was about the 5 types of hobbies everyone should have in order to lead a fulfilling life, arguably the best self-care there is. It included; a creative one (eg drawing, creative writing), one to socialise (eg yoga classes, hiking with friends), a hobby to stay in shape (eg running, swimming), a hobby to learn (eg watching documentaries, learning a new language) and a hobby that makes money (eg investing, monetising a blog). Now it might be a bit full on to do all of this at once, so my advice for a bit of in-depth self care would be to pick one or two types that stand out. Over time you can build up and try to do more, but overdoing it is not going to help anyone. 

Another great way to take self-care to a deeper level is journaling; keeping some kind of diary or memoir to keep track of your thoughts and feelings. It's a perfect way to self reflect without having to dedicate entire hours to it, everyday spend 5 minutes jotting down how you feel and how your day went and at the end of the week spend a little time reading back through and seeing if anything you wrote can help you progress. 

By definition, self-care is the practice of taking an active role in protecting your own well-being and happiness, particularly during periods of stress. This means that I can't write one fool proof way for everyone to self-care, different things are going to work for different people, and the only real way for you to figure out what's best is trial and error. So if anything in this blog helps you, I'm glad I was able to help, and if not, I hope you find something that makes you really happy.