Self-care … Am I There Yet?

I tend to start out strong at the first of the year, and then start breaking my own rules, slipping little by little (a pound here, exercise cancellation there), until pretty soon I realize if I don’t make more of an effort, it’s going to have a negative impact on my health.

There have been several occasions when I’ve let things go too far, and as a result, experienced some kind of physical manifestation of stress – tangible signs, such as fracturing my ankle (July 2016), or having heat exhaustion while watering the plants (May 2017), or a bout with vertigo (July 2020), etc.

So in recognition of National Wellness Month, I made a deal with myself to use this month to get myself back on track, keeping in mind the five key aspects of self-care. It’s great timing here at this point in the year, two-thirds of the way through - with a full four months left in which to refocus and finish the year strong!

I pledged to myself to:

• Continue with my weight loss via healthy eating
• Get more movement into my life
• Average 7-8 hours of sleep per night
• Make more time for self
• Read/watch higher volume of enlightening inputs

Food Intake and Weight Control … At halfway through the month, things are going pretty well. I’ve lost 8 pounds, and am doing well with limiting carbs and alcohol.

When it comes to nutritional intake - and for me, weight control - I would say I’ve done fairly well over the course of the pandemic. There was a little crazy binge-like behavior in the early days (including ice cream, pizza, and excess alcohol). But my weight has now stabilized at pre-pandemic levels, having lost my “Covid-15” earlier this year. I’m working on losing just a bit more, by watching the carbs and playing with intermittent fasting. I want to give myself a margin of error going into my next period of travel and onward to the holidays!

But What about Movement? … On the other hand, I really need more movement in my life! My weekly yoga class was cancelled for the summer, and I missed my two-times-per-week water aerobics for the past three weeks. It’s been so darned hot, we haven’t been taking our usual 2-mile walks, opting instead for 11-minute walks to the front gate.

So this week, I started back with my water aerobics, and yoga. Yoga really has been my “go-to” at several key points in my life when I’ve relaunched my self-care initiatives, and this time is no exception. I’m using the strategy of “anchoring” a newly-desired habit (i.e., “3 yoga moves every morning” <chair, downward dog, plank>) with an already-established habit (my 30+-minute morning practice with my notebook and colored pens <setting my intention for the day, sketching a hummingbird, etc.>).

Nighty-nite … My sleep volume, which was a little low in the first week is now back up to an average of 8 hours a night. I really need my sleep(!), although I often cheat and only get 6-7 hours. One thing I always do, though, is treat myself to a little aromatherapy on my wrists (for me, jasmine, lavender, or ylang ylang does the trick).

Enlightening Inputs … I’ve been consciously allowing myself the time to read an interesting NON-work-related article here and there. In the past I would just bookmark them, but of course never go back and read them. So that’s been an interesting change.

Time for Myself … I’m pretty good on the time for myself, except for that I almost always WORK in that time for myself - so I’m probably not as good at that as I think I am.

But I DO sit out on the back deck (even when it’s hot) and listen to the birds sing and watch the hummingbirds … for at least an hour or so a day. I’m doing my journaling, then checking emails, and just getting myself together for the day in a very relaxed and calm manner. I think that qualifies in some sense: at least it FEELS like time for myself!

I wish I could tell you I’m where I want to be with my own self-care, but the truth is I’m not! The good news is that I’m getting better at it over the years. You can, too!

As much as I’ve focused on self-care and wellness in my life, I can absolutely see the gaps and where I need to put my energies. In fact, I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use at least a little bit better self-care (and attention to wellness) in their lives! Couldn’t you?

Based on my 68 years of dealing with myself, I know that making small tweaks, little by little, is for me the best way forward in making changes that really stick. And sometimes, it takes repeated efforts. For example, I’ve been working on the “get more movement” goal for quite some time, with sporadic results. Maybe this time I’ll pick up a few more good habits that become as natural (and mandatory) as brushing my teeth!

Proactively explore the gaps and opportunity points when it comes to improving your own self-care, and find YOUR best way to experimenting your best way forward!