It’s no surprise that I love to talk about self-care. It’s one of my favorite wellness practices, and I think it is such an essential component to leading a balanced, healthy and oh so happy life.

Let’s think for a moment about all the things you do to maintain a balanced, badass life: We plan, we prepare, we cook, we work, and we work out. Self-care is the chance to press pause and enjoy a deep, peaceful breath. It’s what rejuvenates you to be able to tackle all your other health and life goals.

The two pillars of my coaching approach are 1) Eat Real Food and 2) Take Real Care of Yourself. As humans (especially women), we love to take care of those around us. Our family, our friends, our co-workers — you name it, we are usually there to help out. I love cooking big dinners with friends and family, spending quality time, and doing things I know to make others feel good. It’s the way I show my affection. However, we tend to neglect ourselves in the process.

The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself — and we often skip over it entirely.

I worked with a client recently who had detailed lists of what needed to get done for every aspect of her life—her business, her home, her second career etc. — all except one for her own self-care. Like most women, she was making all her other commitments a higher priority than her own well-being. She was completely ignoring activities that helped her stay grounded and energized — even when she scheduled them on her calendar!

It’s so easy to think, “Oh, I will do that tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,” until a whole year of neglecting yourself has past. Then you wonder why you feel frustrated, anxious, exhausted, or worse yet, sick.

You can’t afford to skip over the self-care! Taking time to take care of yourself has to become non-negotiable.

Now, I’m not talking about things like taking your car in for an oil change or updating your eyeglasses prescription. While those actions are important, they are also just the maintenance of things. I’m talking about the maintenance of your mind, body and soul! Gentle activities that give you the TLC you deserve to feel amazing from the inside out. And yes, you deserve it — fun, yummy activities that make your feel taken care of, grounded and centered like massages, yoga, meditation, walks in nature, a deep conversation with a good friend, laughing loudly or just a good ol’ mani-pedi.

Just like my client learned, you need to make a hard copy list of your self-care options and do one EVERY SINGLE DAY. When we don’t take care of ourselves, everything else will start to suffer. The only way to maintain a healthy balance with our relationships, our business, our health, and our sanity is to put ourselves first.

Self-care doesn’t have to be extravagant or even expensive. Self-care is simply a way to support yourself. Self-care is listening to your body, tending to your needs, and creating boundaries, so you don’t totally exhaust yourself. It is fueling your body and soul with fresh energy to embrace new challenges.

Believe me, I understand what it feels like to have a million and one things going on, it feels like you’re always spinning plates. Taking a break feels impossible, but it’s very doable, my friends!

Set yourself up for a win by finding the things that work for you. Maybe that is 10-15 minutes a day of meditation, or saying a few mantras in the morning. How about leaving yourself little love notes around the house or on your voicemail, cutie? Leave yourself a voice mail telling yourself how freakin’ awesome you are. Do whatever makes you feel loved, centered and cared for.

For me personally, self-care means honoring what I need throughout my day. I start off each morning with 15 minutes of meditation, so I build that time into my schedule and wake up 20 minutes earlier than I need to. And by the way, I am soooo not a morning person! But I feel so much better when I meditate, so I keep my meditation pillow right next to my bed, so it’s the first thing I see when I crawl out of the covers.

I also like to get out into nature at least twice a week. I’m blessed here in California with beautiful hiking trails to explore with friends and sandy beaches to soak up the sun, and it makes me feel powerful. Again, I love to cook a lot during the week and connect with the food that nourishes my body. I have learned to ask for help more when I need it. I visit a healer. I go to yoga and spin classes on a regular basis. And I try to always get enough sleep, so I’m not super cranky!

To me, self-care is also not forcing myself to do things I don’t want to do, even if that activity is going to an event or seeing friends, especially if it involves toxic or negative people. As women, we feel obligated to embrace people and activities that make us physically and mentally uncomfortable, to not rock the boat, but at the end of the day, those unwanted experiences impact our health. This is especially common with work, staying late to finish projects that will still be there in the morning, saying yes to co-workers or your boss when you prefer to say no, feeling guilty over everything you “didn’t get done.”

And here’s a serious side note — self-care is not selfish — it’s smart and necessary. You won’t be any real good to yourself or anyone else if you’re too tired, brain foggy and irritable. When you set stricter standards for yourself than you do for other people, it’s a recipe for struggle. When it comes to creating more positive habits, you have to set yourself up to succeed with small, doable, consistent and engaging activities.

To help you map out a new self-care routine, I have created The Plante Life Self-Care Planner. In it, you’ll find daily affirmations, self-care suggestions and a place to plan and record your daily progress — making self-care an easy-peasy process.

 

You’ll also receive my weekly newsletter filled with free articles, tips and resources to help you make the best choices for your kick-ass health!

Remember, self-care should be non-negotiable. As we head into the busy holiday season, this is the perfect time to recommit to taking care of yourself — to ensure you’ll have the energy and balance to share and relish in the joy of the season with all your loved ones.

Where are you skimping on the self-care? What is one activity you cannot wait to pencil in your new Self-Care Planner? Let me know in the comments below!

–

LOVE + plenty of TLC!