Life is so fast these days; the years simply fly by. With time being such a precious commodity, you’d think that looking after yourself to live a long happy life would be high on the priority list – sadly, taking care of our bodies often seems to end up at the bottom of the pile. The question is why do we do this to ourselves and how can we ‘get better’ at taking ‘better care’ of ourselves?

Read on to discover better ways of taking care of you:

Reason One: I’m too tired

If being ‘too tired’ is the number one reason you’re neglecting your self-care, then it makes sense to say that the self-care you need to begin with the most, is the need for rest! Ask yourself if you need to get to bed earlier.

In addition, we seem to give our energy away to activities that suck up our valuable time, such as social media scrolling, watching tv, etc.

 

Reason Two: It’s all too much effort

You’re already wise enough to know that getting results in life takes effort. So, if you feel that looking after the most important person in the world – you – is too much of an effort, then it’s very likely that you are overcommitted in your life, probably leading to feelings of overwhelm. It’s no surprise then that you don’t have any resources left to give to yourself.

Reason Three: I'm too stressed!

Ah, the daily challenges of day-to-day living! Life is stressful. When you’re feeling stressed, you’re unlikely to do yoga, meditation, deep breathing, walking, or any other amazingly beneficial activity that is proven to reduce your stress levels.

Reason Four: Now is not the right time

No, it never is, and it never will be. Every day you are making billions of new cells. Your body rebuilds itself every second you are alive. Each time you eat a healthy meal, you are helping your body stay well. Every time you do some exercise you are helping your bones and muscles stay fit and strong. Every second of every day you could make the ‘right time’ to do something positive for your health. Your world doesn’t need to change for you to do this.

 

Reason Five: Lack of motivation

I’d love to be able to motivate you, but I can’t, as my motivation to eat well, exercise, manage my stress levels, meditate etc, may not be what you want for yourself. A lot of my motivation is driven by a strong desire to live a long and healthy life. The premature deaths of both my parents from cancer really made me sit up and take note of how I was treating myself. Although there are no guarantees, it’s my belief, (and backed by research), that by taking care of myself through my diet and exercise, the chances of becoming ill are greatly reduced. My motivation can’t be transferred to you, however. No one can motivate you but yourself.

Reason Six: Don’t know what to do

Literally thousands of hours in health coaching have taught me that not knowing what to do and an overload of information is one of the biggest reasons you won’t begin a ‘health journey.’ Self-care has certainly become the new buzz word in the world of wellness – but that in itself can become overwhelming if you don’t have a clear action plan in what to do.

Reason Seven: All or nothing personality

If you believe that ‘eating healthy’ must be a success every day for the rest of your life, and by eating one biscuit is the definition of utter failure, then you will always struggle to stay on track. No one gets it right all the time, believe me. Losing the all of nothing thinking approach to life is the way to set yourself free of unrealistic expectations and offers a higher success rate in following a healthier lifestyle generally.

Reason Eight: Perfectionism

Ah! The perfectionists. They often struggle to look after themselves because they must do it perfectly all the time. I struggle with this myself and have learnt to work on this habit daily. What I recognise in myself and in others, is that I would spend too much time worrying about ‘getting it perfect’ instead of ‘getting to it’ at all. Lowering the expectations I place on myself has helped me become more productive and get better at myself care.

Reason Nine: Procrastination

Procrastination is your brain’s way of avoiding the negative emotions it thinks you will feel if you carry out the task you know you really need to do. It can be uncomfortable feeling those negative emotions, (even though they are a natural part of life), so the brain’s response is to avoid them by delaying you doing the task in the first place.

Reason Ten: I don’t have the time

This is the most common reason I hear. Interestingly, even though we all have the same amount of time in a day, research shows that if your day is packed with engaging activities, you’ll feel less busy and feel like you have more time. Whereas a day filled with the more mundane, such as working, daily chores and repetitive tasks, feels busier and more stressful.

Come to Homefield Grange to remember the importance of self-care. Balance mind, nourish the body and restore your soul from the demands of life at our health & wellness retreats.

Written by Suzanne Peck, Naturopathic Practitioner, Founder Homefield Grange.