Self-care: 8 Ways to take Better Care of Yourself
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I learned the hard way that self-care is not all about spa days and bubble baths. Self-care is not the same as laziness or self-indulgence.
When Jesus was asked about what the most important things in life were He answered with two things: Love God with everything you’ve got (mind, heart, soul, strength) and, love others like yourself.
“Love your neighbour as yourself.” —Mark 12:31
Built into this statement is an inference that we have a level of self-love. For us to be all that God wants us to be, to be able to serve and love others, we also need to take good care of ourselves. When we do one without the other our lives get out of balance. This is when we are either guilty of self-indulgence, putting ourselves above all else, or on the other hand, we are susceptible to burnout when we always put others’ needs above our own.
8 Foundational Self-care Practices
1. Love God First
The foundation of good self-care is a strong relationship with God. This is the core of self-care. Spending time with God each day reminds us of who God is: His power, grace, holiness and love, and reminds us of who we are in Him: fully loved, wonderfully made, God’s beloved child, forgiven and free. Everything else in life flows from this truth.
2. Rest
God instructs us to take a day off work for one day each week. He called it the Sabbath. Our bodies were never designed to work 7 days a week. We need rest to decompress from the stress and hustle and prepare for the week ahead. Resting is not cool in our culture that values productivity above all else. We have to trust God to let go of our to-do lists and submit to His rhythm in our lives.
Read more about Sabbath in this post.
3. Eat Fresh Food
What we eat makes a huge difference to how our body works. Food is fuel, and bad quality food produces bad quality energy. Try to eat food that is fresh and resembles the way God made it. The least amount of processing the better.
We have found this a challenge while travelling in remote areas of Australia, and it is even more difficult with supply chain issues due to the pandemic and floods damaging the rail lines interstate. It is hard to get good quality fresh fruit and veggies in many places. We are learning to make the most of frozen and canned foods. We do the best we can, but we definitely don’t feel as well as we did when we were able to have a plate of fresh salad every day.
4. Drink Water
Drinking plenty of water each day is one of the best ways we can improve our health. Some people find this more challenging than others. I quite like water, and usually don’t find it too hard to get close to drinking 2 litres every day. I find it harder in cold weather or on days we are on the road. We carry a Soda Stream to make our own soda water for a change. Adding a slice of lemon or lime and an ice cube or two and it feels like something special.
5. Sleep
Getting a good amount of quality sleep makes a huge difference to our health and well-being. Nothing illustrated this to me more than the early months of motherhood. Sleep deprivation was one of the most difficult things. Once I could get at least four hours of uninterrupted sleep I felt like a different person the next day.
Those years are long gone, but the importance of a good night’s sleep isn’t. I find an hour of crochet or doing a crossword puzzle helps me settle my busy mind ready for a good night’s sleep. If you struggle to sleep well, there is a lot of research into sleep hygiene that you might find helpful.
6. Exercise
I generally don’t enjoy exercise. I’ve never been good at sport. However, when I do it, I feel good. Especially when I exercise consistently and improve my overall strength and fitness. This is my weakest self-care practice, the one I know I need to prioritise. I find it hard when we are in a new location every few days. That’s no excuse though. I notice people in other caravans following a video and doing their exercises each morning. I sip my coffee and watch them sweat. Oh, dear!
7. Creativity
I have always enjoyed different hobbies. I love creating things with my hands. I am currently crocheting a baby blanket for a friend. (I seem to pray my best prayers with a growing crochet blanket on my lap.)
I also enjoy making my bullet journal pages beautiful with drawings, stickers and lettering.
I have recently discovered the joy of fishing. This is a new one for me, but I found I love standing near the water with a line in the water, letting my mind wander and observe beautiful places. Catching a fish is an added unnecessary bonus.
I was recently given a photocopy of an article about the health benefits of knitting. I am not surprised at all by the resurgence of traditional crafts in modern times. Repetitive focussed tasks are good for our brain health.
8. Community Connection
We are listening to the audiobook “Atlas of the Heart” by Brene Brown while we drive. There have been many light bulb and penny drop moments in the research she shares. One of which is the importance of connection to our health. The research shows that loneliness is one of the greatest risks of early death, more than smoking or obesity. We need connection with others. We need to be a part of community.
When we are feeling lonely it is hard to reach out and find the support we need. It takes courage to put ourselves out there. It takes time and effort to make friends. But it’s worth it.
I have found community in church families all of my life. I’ve loved doing life together with others in the context of church community. I have also joined a fitness group and book club at different times to build friendships outside of the church. In this season of travelling, I join in ‘happy hour’ gatherings and chance conversations with other travellers. We have made great friends with fellow travellers, going on day trips and 4x4 adventures together in convoy, or sharing a table at a local restaurant for dinner. Everyone has an interesting story when we take the time to get to know them.
These 8 self-care principles are nothing new or innovative. They are foundational principles of loving ourselves the way God intended. When we follow these practices, we bring the best of ourselves to love and serve others and contribute to the world around us.
As I confessed before, exercise is the one I personally need to work on. How about you? Is there a self-care practice you need to incorporate into your life in this season? Let me know in the comments below what it is.
