Self Care as a Discipline 🪐🧘🏾‍♀️

Discipline is a dirty word. 

It’s drab. 

It’s not sexy at all. 

But—

One thing it is though…

Is effective. 

Discipline gets shit done. 

Today we are discussing why self care is best used as a discipline and not just a reaction to chronic burnout. 

What happens when you wait until you are halfway to the nut house, to finally care for yourself?

I mean, for one, it’s a colossal waste of time because it’s going to take longer to get yourself up out of the mud that it would have taken to just boost yourself up first. 

When you let yourself go…it’s always hard to pick it back up because we humans are creatures of habit. It’s easier for us to do what we’ve been doing. ALWAYS. Change requires rewiring and that takes time. When you are older and stuck in your ways it takes even longer. 

For many of us, myself definitely included, it takes us burning all the way out to realize that we MUST CARE FOR OURSELVES.

Especially those of us who are caregivers, moms, health professionals, educators, etc. 

These roles are taxing because their very nature requires giving of your internal resources. Your care.

If you go out into the world giving to everyone when you are already haggard and depleted, you will quickly find yourself in the fetal position on the ground somewhere wishing someone would make it stop. 

Okay, I got a little carried away there. 

But you get the point.

Self care is VITAL. And it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Here are some practical ideas:

MORNING SELF CARE

A delicious beverage consumed in SILENCE.

Morning meditation/prayer

Journaling

Makeup Routine

Workout

MID-DAY SELF CARE

A Walk

Listen to an uplifting or funny video or podcast

Stretch/yoga

Music

Humming or Singing

AFTERNOON SELF CARE

Sleepy time tea time (I love this stuff!)

Watch a candle

Read a book that makes you feel good inside

Watch your favorite show

Bubble Bath

Facial

Some other things to consider when it comes to self care:

DIET (mental and physical)

What are you eating? Are you nourishing your body with vitamins and minerals? Are you choosing nutritious snacks? Junk food and fast food can make you feel crappy. Trust me, I know so I can’t judge. I still need to work on this. 

What are you watching on tv? What are you reading? Are these things contributing to your life in a positive way? Are they serving you? Only you know the answer to this! 

FITNESS

We all know fitness is good for us. But many of us don’t prioritize it. Becoming disciplined in this area could do wonders for your mental and physical health.

HOW TO GET STARTED ON YOUR SELF CARE DISCIPLINE:

Start Super Duper Slow

We want this to become a lifestyle, so do not dive headfirst into something you can’t commit to. For the longest, my only form of intentional self care was a cup of coffee in the morning.

Do not be afraid to switch up or try new things. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut.

Commit to a time, today, that you will do something caring for yourself. For at LEAST one whole minute. 

Just one minute, okay? You can afford that!

Recently I read a delicious book called The Science of Positivity. It was awesome. The author advises you to take three times throughout the day where you focus on something in your reality that you appreciate.

For a minute, you focus on that positive thing, and then you go about the rest of your day (being your usual negative self if you want).

She claims that after six weeks of this you will have rewired your brain. Try it out! I’m doing it now and I will share my results with you guys once I’m done. The catch is, if you skip a day, the clock starts over!

Download your self care discipline reminder and ideas sheet below!!

Love,

Nia Venus💋

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