Self Care is a lifelong journey…

Say what now? A life long journey? You mean, I have to do this for the rest of my life?

I’m sure I’m not alone when I get impatient when I’m told “this probably won’t ever be fixed, it’s something you will need to work at for the rest of your life”. Whether it’s a medical condition, eating well and exercising to keep a lifestyle disease or weight under control or exercises from your physiotherapist; it’s not uncommon to be told that you will need to have maintenance for a particular issue.

I have had many sports injuries in my short life and going to a physio is a regular thing. Physiotherapist’s work on strengthening muscles to help the body learn to do what it was designed for. I always get impatient and struggle when I’m told “doing these exercises regularly will help keep on top of the pain.”

You know though, this is not so unusual in our human life. There are many ways we maintain our body so that we can have good health. To name a few:
– Brushing your teeth
– Having a shower
– Cleaning your house
– Watering the plants
– Getting the car serviced
– Eating healthy meals
– Exercising regularly
– Washing your clothes
– Mowing the lawn
–

If we keep on top of all the above examples, the rest of our life will flow much better.

And so it is with our self care. Self care is about putting yourself on the list; valuing yourself for who you truly are; and setting time aside to look after yourself instead of always putting others first. If we don’t regularly keep on top of our self care, then we will slowly decline into bitterness, heartache, burnout, frustration, anger, low self-esteem, negative relationships, addiction and the list could go on.

Here are some simple ways to help put self care into play in your life today:

Divide it into the 4 areas of wholeness:
Physical – e.g. make healthy food choices, exercise regularly, keep up your medical check ups
Emotional/Social – debrief with a friend or trusted person, learn how to express your emotions in a safe way.
Intellectual – keep your brain healthy, brain games, learn a new skill
Spiritual – connect with yourself on a deeper level, discover a higher power

Take the journey of self care today. It will be challenging at times! You won’t regret it!

Journeez Counselling and Training, Adelaide, are specialists in Self Care and learning to look after yourself in this fast-paced society. Please contact me today for further information about counselling or my Self Care workshops and seminars for businesses, churches or community groups. You are also welcome to join the Journeez community by subscribing to this blog above or follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Discovering Life to the Fullest.