Thinking about taking care of ourselves

I didn’t know I was going to pick this subject until just now. Of course, my theme this month is thinking and I’ve written about beliefs and assumptions and how we think about various subjects, so I have a vague idea each day, but I like to make it relevant if I can. And just now, looking at this picture of myself working hard at Boot Camp this morning (yes, that is a parachute behind me, just to provide drag and make it that bit harder to run), and feeling tired after a challenging week, I realised I wanted to write about self-care.

The concept of taking care of myself was foreign to me a few years ago. Then life intervened in the shape of a chronic condition, and I found myself obliged to learn how to look after myself, physically, mentally and spiritually. The beliefs I had grown up with were: work hard, put others before yourself, sacrifice is good, life isn’t for enjoying, if you feel tired just push yourself harder. It all made sense to me for too many decades because this is the background I come from. These attitudes helped me to get sick, though, and I had a choice. Either stay sick and get used to it, while retaining my old beliefs, or change the way I do life and give myself a chance to get better. Happily, I chose the latter.

This is why, today, I have been to Boot Camp, because I thrive on sensible exercise, taken some time to care for my family, and planned a relaxing and inspirational walk with Alfie in the blustery sunshine. Walking is a priority; it’s a tonic for my mind and absolutely essential for me to keep up my creativity levels, so we’ll be heading out as soon as this is posted. Those are the things I am doing. But, just as important, I have made decisions about what I will not be doing. There will be no work today on my new editing project, excited as I am, because I want to be fresh and rested to get started on it during the week. I will keep housework to a minimum (if you follow my blog you’ll know this is not an effort!) and I won’t impose a word count target for my book writing. If it gets done, great, if it doesn’t, there will be time during the week. And I won’t feel guilty if I don’t comment on as many blogs as I would like to; there is always time to catch up.

These days, I look after myself in so many different ways, first and foremost because I want to be as well as I can be. But I have also discovered that, if I want to be free of worry, able to control what goes on between my ears, I really, really need to practise self-care. The better I take care of myself, the easier it is to control my thinking rather than letting my thinking control me, decide what I want to focus on and allow peace and serenity in my life. And I’m not the only person who benefits if all this happens, because my family, friends, clients and colleagues have an easier and more pleasant life if I’m happy and relaxed.

If you find it a challenge to put yourself first, or even to accept that it’s acceptable to do so, I recommend reading Cheryl Richardson’s The Art of Extreme Self Care. This book was my introduction to the concept, and I haven’t looked back.

And if you’d like to know more about how I live a worry-free life and pick up self-care tips, why not sign up for my newsletter? A fortnightly email, ready to read at your convenience, keeping you up-to-date with my blogging, publications, thoughts on writing and what Alfie thinks. A regular dose of thought-provoking inspiration, and it’s completely free! Sign up below.