In some situations, you may feel guilty about nurturing your body and mind by spending time addressing your personal needs and being good to yourself. When these situations arise, it’s important that you remember that taking time to practice healthy habits and coping skills and celebrating your successes along the way will help you meet your goals and will improve your overall health and well-being, too.
It’s important that you choose self-nurturing activities that are enjoyable for you. These activities can also be used as rewards when you meet your interim goals; so, you may want to choose “big” activities that you can enjoy whenever you reach your overall or “big-picture” goals as well as “small” activities that you can enjoy whenever you reach an interim goal or feel that you deserve some special time for yourself. You deserve to care for yourself, and it’s okay to indulge in pleasurable activities.
So, what are some self-nurturing activities that you can try? Start by choosing a handful of self nurturing activities from the list shown below, or perhaps make up your own activities. Whatever you choose to do, make sure that it’s something that makes you feel good!
1. Get a massage
2. Take a long, relaxing bubble bath
3. Read that new mystery novel you’ve been eyeing at the library
4. Write a letter to a friend
5. Give yourself a pedicure or facial
6. Take a few moments to meditate or pray
7. Practice the mental imagery and/or relaxation skills that you’ve explored through this program
8. Organize your bedroom closet
9. Plant flowers in your garden
10. Call a favorite friend or relative
11. Browse the Internet for information on a subject that interests you but that you know very little about
12. Watch a movie that you’ve been wanting to see
13. Work on a puzzle
14. Breathe deeply
15. Soak your feet in a tub of warm water and bath salts
16. Organize your family photos
17. Play a musical instrument
Action Plan
The first step to finding time to self nurture is to figure out where you have time in your schedule to focus consistently on yourself. Download the Time Management form. With this form, you will simply record what you do every day for a week; your time commitments to sleep, eat, work, family…etc. At the end of the week take a look at this information and make some decisions about what is most important to you and what you can let go of. To begin to self nurture, you must begin to make room in your life for you.
Angela Pifer, MSN, CN, Seattle Nutritionist
www.NutritionNorthwest.com Enjoy the day to day support, structure and accountability that will finally help you meet your health goals!
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Categories: Developing Awareness
