The imaginary deadline to create New Years’ resolutions has passed and we are getting ready to enter the third year of 2021. However, it is never too late to show up for yourself. Here are some of our favorite ways that we show up for ourselves every day.
Morning Affirmations
The best-selling author and psychologist Dr. Carmen Harra addressed the importance of affirmations in her op-ed for the Huffington Post.
“Much like exercise, they raise the level of feel-good hormones and push our brains to form new clusters of ‘positive thought,’” she wrote. “In the sequence of thought-speech-action, affirmations play an integral role by breaking patterns of negative thoughts…”
Improving the way you speak to yourself may be the most challenging way to show up for yourself. Nonetheless, it is a hidden gem in the large pile of self-care practices out there. Start your day off with morning affirmations to ensure that you are tackling each day with a version of yourself that you whole-heartedly accept.
Here are some assertions to start trying:
“My wants have worth.”
“Being my truest self is my divine right.”
“Today, I will show up for my present and future self. My past self no longer needs me.”
Meditation
Whether you believe it to be a hoax or not, meditation has been shown to benefit patients combating depression, chronic pain, and anxiety. Harvard Medical School instructor and psychologist Benjamin Shapiro weighed in on mindful meditation for the Harvard Gazette:
“Individual cognitive behavioral therapy is helpful for many people. Antidepressant medications help many people,” Shapiro said. “But it’s also the case that many people don’t benefit from them as well. There’s a great need for alternative approaches.”
Meditation, like all other self-care tactics, lasts as long as you’re willing to do it. Do it for five minutes in the morning or two hours in the evening – the choice is entirely up to you.
Practice Maintaining Boundaries
Don’t want to go out with your coworkers after a long 8-hour workday? Then don’t. We often talk about boundaries as they relate to relationships. Still, limits go far beyond skipping a 6 p.m. dinner date with friends – they are also personal. For example, you may have boundaries for how much screen time you allow yourself to have every day. You may even set boundaries for how much energy you are willing to put into a given project. To avoid putting your body and mind under stress, establish your boundaries, and make an effort to practice them.
Journaling
Keeping in mind boundaries, we have all been in a position where our friends or family members have dumped their entire day onto us without warning. You may have even found yourself doing this to others. There is a thin line between being there for our loved ones and sacrificing our sanity to take on their emotional burdens. Journaling is a great emotional outlet that allows us not to compromise our relationships. Even better, writing down your thoughts will enable you to reflect on them later when you are in a better headspace.
Commit To Your Routine
According to a study by researchers at Tel Aviv University, predictable, repetitive routines help reduce stress levels. If you have a typical 9-to-5 work schedule, then your routine is already halfway complete. The real struggle is to continue maintaining a routine before and after you punch the clock. If routines have never been your forte, then consider creating slots in your schedule each day for activities that you must do. I have personally stuck by my “Wash Day Sunday” routine for seven years now.
