5 WAYS TO PRACTICE SELF CARE

For today’s post, I’m talking about self-care! As i’ve gotten older, I realize that taking care of yourself is important and not selfish! If you don’t take time to slow down, refresh your mind, body and emotions, you can become stressed and burned out. I don’t know about you, but when i’m super stressed and burned out, I’m not my best self and I don’t have much to give. So here are a few ways I practice self-care:

1. Be Kind to Yourself – It’s really easy, especially on days when you just feel blah, to not be kind to yourself. When you look in the mirror, no matter how you feel, or how horrible your day went, practice saying positive things. The conversation we have with ourselves when we make a mistake or things not going our way is important. (to be honest, i’m working on this too). I believe that the way we treat ourselves, sets the tone for how we allow others to treat us. So the next time your in traffic, having a bad day, or just happen to walk by your reflection, say a few positive affirmations.
2. Say No – In the era of social media, it’s normal to experience FOMO (fear of missing out) after scrolling on instagram for over 30 mins and seeing all the events happening. You need to remember that you don’t have to be at every party, networking event or holiday party. It’s 100% ok to say no. With no explanation (especially if you really don’t want to go in the first place). Sometimes you just need to stay home, catch up on your favorite NETFLIX series or relax to your favorite Spotify playlist at home. Or do absolutely NOTHING! Me time never hurt anyone! I promise 🙂
3. Treat Yourself – There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself from time to time. To a weekend getaway, a local staycation, or even a new bag or shoe! On a smaller or daily scale I like to treat myself to a cup of bubble tea, a new facial mask from SEPHORA, or even just give myself a manicure at home. At the end of the day, rewarding yourself for a job well done is a go on my list, because we know how stressful adult-ing is!
4. Do Things You Love – If you have a hobby, I suggest carving out time daily or at least weekly to nurture and grow it. If you don’t have one, then it’s time for you to starting trying a variety of new activities until you find one that just naturally sticks. It’s important to engage in activities you genuinely enjoy or are passionate about on a daily basis. It’s a great way to de-stress!
5. Disconnect – We consume so much information from so many platforms on a daily basis and we are ALWAYS on our phones for something. Most people have an e-mail account, then add your facebook, instagram, twitter or any other social account that you check regularly. Let’s not forget just sending text messages and also using apps on our phones for work or pleasure. Time Magazine even wrote an interesting article on how Americans Check Their Phones 8 Billion Times a Day here!  Decide on days or times when you leave your phone alone, turn it off, or just put it on do not disturb for a specific block of time. Use the disconnected time to reflect and relax. Our minds need a break from time to time.

I hope you guys enjoyed my tips! How do you practice self-care? Let me know below.

xo Yinka

photography: Norman Oates