6 Self-Care Habits That Improve My Life

When you think about self-care habits you might think about having a warm relaxing bath or taking time out to relax on your own. Whilst these things can be types of self-care, I think there are more practical forms of self-care that are good for both your mind and body and will make a meaningful difference in your life.

In this post, I’ll go over some of the self-care habits that make me feel good and might make you feel good too. Personally, I don’t want or need to feel perfect all the time…I don’t think that exists…I just want to build realistic, healthy habits that make me feel like I’m on the right track, have a decent amount of energy and make me feel productive.

Habits make the difference

I think that making self-care work is by being consistent. That’s why I’m always talking about making good things a habit. When I was pulling myself out of my own rut a few years ago, I noticed that my life was improving only when I did good things on a regular, consistent basis.

Sometimes I don’t always show up for the below habits but most of the time I do and I certainly notice the difference when I don’t. So, here are the self-care habits I make important in my life that you might also find helpful when it comes to taking care of your mind and body.

1. Move your body fully and regularly

I think you can become tense and stressed more easily if you don’t allow your body to move to its fullest regularly. How often do exert your muscles in a full range of motion?

The other day I saw a quote saying; “Most people over the age of 30 will never sprint again,” Whilst I think that might be a bit of an over-exaggeration, I thought about the people in my life including myself, and wondered how often we really do move our bodies to their fullest extent.

I thought about how we spend much of our lives sitting on buses, in cars, in office chairs, on sofas and even on beds. I couldn’t help but think about how often I used to run around as a child in the playground and how back then I would move my body completely differently than how I do now.

Does your body feel differently today than it did back then just because of ageing? Or could you keep that range of motion into your later years by regularly exercising? I think you can.

One of the self-care habits I have deployed more recently is to make a conscious effort to move my muscles as much as possible. This has mostly been in the form of stretching for at least 5 minutes each day and performing specific leg exercises at least once a week.

This is helping to offset the effects of sitting too much. I get a rush of blood every time I do this helping me to feel more energised.

I used to think that stretching was just for yoga but by trying to stretch my whole body in different ways, I have realised how much of a great workout it can be and how good you can feel afterwards, helping to keep your body feeling loose which has had a positive effect on my mood and mobility.

2. Have a physical challenge

I’ve always been keen on exercise but as I get older I notice the effects of it more and more on my mood and a general sense of well-being. I was always the guy that wanted big muscles but these days I just don’t want to be the ’30+ something that never runs again’.

Truth be told, I never enjoyed running, even as a kid, but I now realise that if I don’t do it now, I probably won’t ever do it again. That’s why one of my most important self-care habits these days is to have a physical challenge once a week where I go out and play a sport. This gives me a reason to run again. It gives me a physical challenge that is difficult and exhausting but boy do I feel good once I’m done.

I try and do what I do whilst I’m still capable of doing it.

I’m probably getting slightly fitter week by week but the biggest benefit has been on my mental well-being. I find a great sense of achievement as I get better and better and fitter and fitter. I know I’m doing something healthy that also helps to keep me mentally sharp.

I find having a physical challenge to be great for your overall self-care routine because of this. Sometimes adding a physical activity can feel exhausting but I think it can help to not just focus on your weight or fitness but to be mindful of the way you feel once you finish a session.

If you feel a bit less mentally foggy and feel a rush or energising blood flowing through you, perhaps you will find that activity worth pursuing regularly.

3. Be mindful before reacting

“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master;
he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him,”

Epictetus

I find this to be a great quote because I believe it to be very true, especially in today’s world. When something angers you, it’s as if takes something from you, disrupting what might have been a positive mood.

If you think about it, there are many things that try to get some kind of emotional reaction from you. Sometimes when things bother you, that angry feeling can put a real dampener on huge chunks of your day.

Whether it’s the news, the things you see on TV or social media, it feels as if it’s easier than ever to find something that upsets you. After all, negativity gets more attention and usually more interaction.

One self-care habit that I am working on is taking a mindful pause when I see something that might try and poke at my emotions. I take a second to ask myself; ‘does this need to affect me?’

If the answer is no, I carry on with my day. I think it’s a worthwhile self-care habit to try and let things go if they don’t have any bearing on you. There will always be negative news stories or people reacting in anger to things but it doesn’t mean you need to let these things affect you too.

More and more I find myself opting to have no opinion.

4. Care for others without expectation

The more years I live the more I realise that the most important thing is people. Whether it’s your family, friends or the people you come into contact with every day, it’s people that mean something and many of them could do with being shown a little kindness.

Consider this – if you were the last person on Earth, would the world matter as much? If there was no one left on Earth, would the Earth even matter at all? I’m not sure but I believe that it is people that give things meaning as well as each other. That’s why I think it’s important to care for each other. That’s also why I think practising self-care also means caring for other people.

There is a sense of pure compassion you and the person you help feel when you do something nice for them without wanting anything in return. It’s a priceless feeling that you can’t put a price tag on but it makes every person involved in that moment just feel good.

5. Be relentlessly grateful

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has,”

Epictetus

With so many desires presented to you, it can be easy to forget to be grateful for what you already have. Whether it’s the better job, the better car or better vacations, there’s always something. Ask yourself; would you be happy if you had everything you’ve ever desired or is it likely there would still be something new you would crave at some point?

When I ask myself this question, I believe the answer to be yes, the temptation for more will always be there. That’s why I think one of the best self-care habits you can have is to practise gratitude for what you have right now. For example, if you hate your job, it could always be worse. You can put a roof over your head and you’re at least part of something. What would be the alternative? You still have time to find a new job.

If you have little money, there is still an opportunity for you to become successful. Practising gratitude doesn’t have to mean writing out a list of what you’re grateful for, you could simply reflect on it for a couple of minutes a day.

Imagine everything you appreciate, no matter how small, gone.

Now imagine how you would feel. This is a great way of starting to appreciate what you have today. When you intentionally do this you begin to see the important people and things you love in your life as precious and worth protecting.

6. Be mindful about nutrition

I believe one of the biggest self-care habits that has helped me to feel more energised ‘and feel better within myself’ is being more mindful of my nutrition. I don’t mean from a weight loss perspective though, I mean more from an overall sense of well-being.

One thing make sure I pay attention to is how my body feels after I eat different foods. I notice I feel sluggish, more tired and more anxious when I eat highly processed foods including alcohol and how I feel perfectly normal when I avoid these things.

I used to be the kind of person who ate processed foods with each meal and could never figure out why I always felt bloated and sluggish – the two being connected never crossed my mind. It wasn’t until I learnt about nutrition that I made some self-care changes around my diet.

After learning a few basics about vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats and proteins, I realised how each of these in different amounts had an effect on my mind and body. I realised that I was probably deficient in some of them and how adding some more or removing some made a drastic difference to my overall sense of well-being.

They say you are what you eat and I now believe you really end up feeling based on what you put in your mouth. It seems there are a set of delicate dances going on throughout your body and your body needs certain things in healthy amounts to function properly and ‘normally’.

I don’t think you need to go and get a master’s degree but with all the free information about nutrition on the internet, there’s no better time to start learning how different foods have different effects on your body. By simply changing the nutrition you get you could feel a life-changing difference in how you feel as you walk through and interface the world.

How you can put all of these self-care habits into practice

So how can you put these self-care habits into practice in real life?

• Move your body fully and regularly – you could do this by doing a stretch routine several times a week or shorter routines once a day. There are many easy stretch routines you can find these days and this is a great way to keep your body feeling loose and ready to go. Make it a habit by doing it in the morning before you get dressed for work.
• Have a physical challenge – this could mean you go and play a sport once a week. This would ideally be in the evening after work or on a Sunday morning. Most activities like this are only an hour long but could make a big difference in your fitness goals.
• Be mindful before reacting – the next time someone tests your patience or is rude to you, take a pause before you react. Ask yourself if you need to react to them. Because conflict to different degrees can be a regular thing throughout the week, there is always a chance to practise this and make it a habit.
• Care for others without expectation – Once or twice a week, think of something nice or helpful you could do for someone in your life. Notice how you both feel afterwards.
• Be relentlessly grateful – On a Sunday morning, look back on your week and think about everyone and everything that made what you did worthwhile. Spend a couple of minutes reflecting on this and notice how you feel.
• Be mindful about nutrition – every time you eat something, notice how it affects your mood and your body. Do you feel bloated or uncomfortable? What could you eat that might make you feel better? Perhaps avoiding those things that don’t make you feel great is enough to improve your mood on a regular basis. At the same time, read up or watch information about nutrition so you feel more equipped to make healthy decisions.