This Valentine’s Day: Love Yourself Too!

When did you last spend time caring for yourself? 

Photo by Felix Russell-Saw

Looking after your own well being may be misconstrued as being selfish or even unnecessary, but it is actually a really important component of physical and mental health. By spending time on your own care you are giving yourself the capacity to keep up with the demands of caring for others.

I found that the Self Care Needs Checklist by Jill Conyers very helpful as a tool for evaluating how regularly you are meeting your own self-care needs. Her post reminds us that self-care involves many aspects of our our beings.  She advocates having a sustainable plan for incorporating self-care into our weekly lives as a means to nurture the soul. Her questions also probe our attitudes to ourselves. For example: Do you forgive yourself when you make a mistake?  Do you accept yourself for who you are?

Another helpful resource is Melanie's advice on How to Develop a Multidimensional Self-Care Routine. She explains that self-care involves more than just the occasional spot of physical pampering, but instead it requires a multifaceted approach. She also reminds us that self-care should be a positive experience rather than a stressful extra job on the "to do" list!

As Valentine's Day approaches next week, I encourage you to spend some time developing your own self-care plan and putting it into action. You might also like to read my previous post on Developing a Self-Care Plan to give you some more ideas on how to go about doing it.