By Sherrie Campbell
SherrieCampbellPhD.com
Many of our lives are centered on taking care of the needs of everyone around us aside from ourselves. We are running around taking care of our kids, husbands/wives, pets, friends, bosses, coworkers, parents, etc. Sometimes the responsibilities we have in life feel like an overwhelming burden, and because of all of these responsibilities, we end up forgetting to have fun and to enjoy life.
We cater to being responsible before we cater to being happy. However, there needs to be an established balance between both. Taking care of ourselves doesn't have to be a chore, an obligation, or something that is experienced as yet another burden. Here are 10 simple ways to take better care of yourself.
1. Go outside. Exercise, take a walk, go to the beach/pool, hike, or do whatever else appeals to you. Get some fresh air. Fresh air fills us up with a fresh new look on life. Getting outside allows for a state of relaxed contemplation. It serves as a release from all the pressures we sometimes feel trying to be everything to everyone.
2. Alone time. Make sure each day to get at least 30 minutes of alone time. Whether you get this time at your lunch break, a half hour before bed, or 30 minutes in the morning before everyone else gets up, time alone is detoxing and reparative.
3. Ignite your creativity. Be it writing, reading, creating something, cooking, working on a car, building something, sewing, or making art, do whatever ignites your creative juices. Being creative lets us know we are alive and passionate.
4. Spend time with friends. There is nothing better than a nice break from life's responsibilities and spending time with people we love and who make us feel free. Bonding is one of the healthiest ways to take care of ourselves.
5. Take a nap. A 20-minute nap is said to be totally rejuvenating for the whole physical, emotional, and mental system. If you can fit it into your day, I highly recommend it.
6. Go shopping. Getting something new often brings light and excitement into our lives. We all need to reward ourselves for our hard work.
7. Get spiritual. In whatever way works for you, enlivening your spiritual life can make you feel more connected to the process your life is taking. Having a firm belief that all is happening as it should be will help to relax a stressed mind.
8. Get a massage. Touch is healing and a great way to reduce stress and love ourselves.
9. Eat healthy. There is something about eating healthy that makes us feel as if we are headed in the right direction and that we have a sense of control over our circumstances. Eating healthy is a powerful choice in the direction of self-love.
10. Turn off your cell phone for a few hours. It is incredibly healthy to be able to just disconnect from the social and Internet world.
I encourage everyone to follow these steps and whatever steps come to mind as you read this list. You each have a knowing within of what makes you feel good and what people, events and circumstances bring you joy. It is so easy to get overwhelmed in the world of responsibility only to lose sight of the basic reasons for living. You are here to feel happy as much as you can, to focus more on your pleasure than your pain, and to feel the fruits of your labor on an emotional (not just a financial) level.
Your life experiences are dictated by how you feel emotionally. Due to this reality, you must make a conscious effort to take care of how you are feeling. If you veer off into the negative over never-ending feelings of responsibility, you have to recalibrate and take some action to take care of yourself. You deserve it.
Little life message: You can be the best caretaker of you.
Dr. Sherrie Campbell is an author and a licensed psychologist with more than 19 years of clinical training and experience. She provides practical tools to help people overcome obstacles to self-love and truly achieve an empowered life.
Click here to get her free article, “Five Ways to Make Love the Common Ground in Your Communication.” She is a featured expert on a variety of national websites and has a successful practice in Southern California. Receive free insights from Sherrie and be involved in her
Facebook community of others looking to improve their relationships. For more information visit
SherrieCampbellPhD.com. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.
