Simple Self Care: 3 Powerful Habits to Nourish Your Mind and Soul

“When we care for ourselves as our very own beloved—with naps, healthy food, clean sheets, a lovely cup of tea—we can begin to give in wildly generous ways to the world, from abundance.”

 —Anne Lamott

Are you always putting others first and neglecting your own self-care?

If so, it’s time for a change.

Just like the flight instructions you receive before takeoff, you must put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting others. The same principle applies to self-care. You cannot help others effectively until you prioritize your own well-being.

By implementing self-care practices, you can boost your mental health and become a more balanced, peaceful person. Not only will this positively impact your own life, but it will also inspire those around you to follow suit.

If you’ve been putting off self care because you’ve been too focused on everyone else, it’s time change and turn some of that care towards yourself. Here are three simple ways to do so.

1. Practice Daily Gratitude

Starting a gratitude practice is one of the most powerful things you can do to create huge positive shifts within.

Focusing on what you have to be grateful for forces you to not only become a more positive person—but also lowers your stress, gives you more energy and helps you sleep better.

Gratitude is like a miracle vitamin for your mind, body, and soul and is one of the easiest self-care habits to practice each day. It’s also completely free, so there’s no excuse not to do it!

There are several ways to practice gratitude, and each of these only takes a few minutes each day:

GRATITUDE JOURNAL:

Write down what you're grateful for inside a gratitude journal. There are some inspiring guided gratitude journals here and here.

GRATITUDE JAR:

Write your gratitude on a slip of paper, and put it into a gratitude jar. Click here to learn how using a gratitude jar transformed my whole life!

GRATITUDE MEDITATION:

Do a five-minute gratitude meditation. Here’s a link to a lovely free guided gratitude meditation.

2. Start a Self Care Journal

A self-care journal allows you to purge any feelings that weigh heavily on you.

But self-care journaling isn’t only for challenging feelings - the simple practice of writing also helps you to celebrate happy moments and develop a deeper sense of gratitude.

“Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is you’re having a conversation with your mind.

— Natalie Goldberg

There are many different ways to use a self-care journal, so base your approach on your personality, as well as the time and effort you want to put into it.

Some people thrive writing in an outlined approach that is the same daily with sections titled: Date, Feelings, Experiences.

Others prefer a blank page to create something new in every entry, or to sketch their feelings in pictures and symbols, rather than words.

A PURGE SELF-CARE JOURNAL

Simply ask yourself each day, “How do I feel?” and let your heart pour out onto the page. Be honest with yourself and let your feelings flow without filter or judgement. Give yourself permission to get it all out, and let it go.

You might find some entries go for pages while others are a few simple paragraphs. There are no rules, so do what feels right.

AN ART SELF-CARE JOURNAL

An art journal is a combination of artwork and words. Your art can be drawn, painted, scrapbooked, or created digitally. Do whatever your muse sees fit.

Feel free to mix up the mediums within the practice; you could draw one day, do a poem the next. The most important thing is to have fun with this practice and not judge whatever comes out of you.

A GUIDED SELF-CARE JOURNAL

If you want more step-by-step instruction on how to start practicing self-care, as well as a place to track your progress, a guided self-care journal is a wonderful option. Some of my favorite guided journals are here and here.

3) Try Practicing Forgiveness

Ho'oponopono is the ancient Hawaiian practice of forgiveness, and one of the most powerful forms of self-care.

The literal translation of Ho'oponopono is: “to put to right; to put in order or shape, correct, revise, adjust, amend, regulate, arrange, rectify, tidy up, make orderly or neat.”

In a nutshell, it means putting yourself back together, lovingly.

Ho'oponopono is extremely simple, but extremely profound. All it requires is for you to repeat the following mantra throughout the day whenever a challenging feeling or situation arises:

“I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I’m sorry.

— Ho'oponopono Mantra

The premise of Ho'oponopono is that we are 100% responsible for everything that comes into our life, and the best way to heal whatever might be showing up is by loving and forgiving it so we can live in total gratitude in the present moment.

It’s easy to spiral into anxiety when something challenging enters our awareness, but this simple mantra helps stop anxious thoughts in their tracks and not take us over.

It is the ultimate form of self-care, and something that will transform you from the inside out when you use it daily whenever a stressful thought pops into your awareness.