In life, we all have a tendency to be caught by our own stories. These stories have the power to limit who we are, how we perceive the world, and how we interact with others. The way we can free ourselves from these stories is through self-care. Self-care is not just about taking care of the body but also about freeing ourselves from old stories.
Along my life journey, I learned to connect the dots between myself and my self-care: and learned about the benefits of taking personal responsibility for my own needs and discovered the following levels to be compelling reasons for knowing myself and my needs intimately because in truth no one else can make these decisions for me, or take away consequences of my choices. Here are the signs I have observed:
- Red Alert: Shows up as illness and suffering, which naturally creates motivation to slow down and notice all systems are in crisis. Urgent care is required. The pedal has been to the metal for way too long, and the inner engine is depleted. Typically, this expresses itself in the physical body and/or emotional health issues.
- Orange Alert: Happens as we begin to catch on to warning signals used by our senses to help us deal with a potential crisis in the making. Often, this is when professionals are consulted, requests for advice and solutions are made to address a worrisome problem with health, wealth, or relationship situations.
- Yellow Alert: Gives us the reminders to schedule our self-care needs because Orange and Red Alerts are soon to follow if we don’t honor our inner requests for Rest, Relaxation, and Recovery time. Since all things are connected, when we are not at our best everything suffers; including career, family, friends, etc.
- Green Light: All systems are GO, vitality is established to greet the day and carry out our responsibilities and commitments to live life fully and wholeheartedly.
- Baseline research into what works for us, as unique individuals, is tested through experience based on wisdom and intuition; which ideally supports our future experiences. If we bypass the personal research and observation step, we lose a key component to experiencing living life from a state of awareness. For instance: are you allergic to certain foods or elements? Are you more introverted or extroverted? What are your preferences? What are your dislikes? Asking such things of yourself can help guide you toward an easier lifestyle.
My favorite part of being human is working with #5, the fifth item, in the list above because I am convinced we are on an adventure on this Earth. And, being curious about how we are here on purpose to mix with an amazing cast of characters to support, inspire, and challenge us to stretch beyond what we might imagine possible. This is a Soul Game we all play. It is the mystery of the physical into a spiritual transformation that carries us into becoming far more than we ever dreamed possible. Simply knowing your own personal makeup, heart’s desires, special talents, and skills are all vitally important to know who you are as a unique personality. In turn, being able to see differences in others, and appreciating them as equally unique contributes to shared joy in our collective adventures together. Whoever came up with this game is a Creative Genius! Because, how else can we learn to truly know anything without contrasts?
Top insightful questions to ask yourself for better self-knowing.
- What is my personality style? And Personal Preferences?
- What is my body type? Strengths and special needs?
- What recharges my energy and makes me happy?
- Do I need to set boundaries? Should I open up and allow more?
- Are there any beliefs and/or habits I need to reexamine to bring a greater sense of ease and grace into my being? What new beliefs and habits should I look at more closely?
- What new habits can I create? Are my current habits helping me as much as they used to?
- Which dreams keep coming to mind when I think about living a life I would love to live? Am I considering them as Divine potential my heart knows are real possibilities for me?
- What makes me unique?
- What adventures await me?
- Imagine if it were possible? How would it make you feel?
- Am I open to even more change and greater awareness?
- How well do I love myself?
- What brought me to this level of success, happiness, peace, relationships, etc. that I currently have in my life?
- What holds me back from achieving success, happiness, peace, relationships, etc. I want most to have in my life?
This level of personal knowing offers freedom from our stories, habits, and taking on other peoples’ recipes for their success instead of trusting our own inner-knowing. We are our own blend of amazing traits and aspirations, therefore having a clear handle on what that is for us is PRICELESS!!!
Take this FREE self-assessment quiz to learn more about what holds you back from experiencing greater happiness and balance in life.
What is self-care? Self-care includes everything that helps us feel good, be healed, and at peace with life. It includes everything that brings us into alignment with our highest selves. It can include time alone, time with family and friends, activities, or any number of other ways to nourish ourselves.
Self-care is something that all of us need but very few of us really know how to do. Our stories and the ways we are conditioned by society can cause us to believe that self-care is selfish and that we are not allowed to do it. No one wants to be judged as being uncaring.
In the self-help industry, we are always talking about how we need to take care of ourselves and how that is the only way to truly live our best lives. Let’s take a look at what it really means to take care of ourselves and how that will bring about freedom from our stories and the ability to live more authentically in the present moment.
Do These Five Things Every Day to Feel Amazing as You Responsibly Take Care of Yourself.
1. Say “No” at least once per day. This can be an invitation to do something that does not excite or inspire you. You can also just say “No” to an unhealthy habit. It is up to you.
2. If you struggle with people-pleasing, then intentionally disappoint someone. I know this sounds awful, however, how many times have you denied, sacrificed, or betrayed your own needs because someone expects you to do things for them? Here is a quote I find extremely helpful and wise:
“if you want to live an authentic, meaningful life, you need to master the art of disappointing and upsetting others, hurting feelings, and living with the reality that some people just won’t like you. It may not be easy, but it’s essential if you want your life to reflect your deepest desires, values, and needs.”
― Cheryl Richardson, The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time
3. Turn the table on loving others more than yourself. Instead, list all the ways you love others. Now, begin to give to yourself those very things. Your inner self will appreciate your noticing and caring for it because the cry for love was coming from within you all along. You were giving away what you needed to receive, so receive it now that you are aware of your own needs for love and nurturing.
4. Become your own best friend. Compliment yourself. Encourage yourself and send the inner critic to a higher court of appeals. I like sending my inner-tormenter to the Holy Spirit, so I can be free to carry on with being and doing the best I can in following my good intentions. I don’t need a defeating voice in my head messing with the guidance in my heart and soul. Whatever benevolent support system you connect with is fine, send the rebellious, self-sabotaging voices to the Creator of Unconditional Love. All you have to do is call in the support team, for me that is the Holy Spirit. Some call in Angels or Guides. Let me know if you need any help on this point.
5. Collect inspiring quotes and thoughts that feel amazing and supportive to your Highest and Best Self goals. I use my social media news feeds to either save or share directly to “Only Me” so I can find them again easily. — You can also create a separate private page or profile if you like to forward posts you love the most. An online journal or note-taking platform can work as well. Next, go back through your private collection to remind yourself of all the good things, promises, and hopes that thrill you to the core, along with truths you be encouraged by and walk in faith with. The best part of this is the more you like, love, and share posts like these, the more you will receive other similar posts. It is miraculous and a great illustration of how life actually works. Being positive brings more positivity, it is a Universal Divine Algorithm. Try it, you are going to love it.
As you can see, self-care isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing less. It’s about slowing down and being present to your body and life. Empowering oneself in letting go and seeing what comes up. And, it’s about allowing your story to unfold, rather than holding onto it so tightly. And how allowing life to flow brings freedom from our stories. With this knowledge, you can learn to connect the dots between yourself and your self-care.
Self-care is not a luxury, self-care is a necessity!
Self-care and self-knowledge are both keys to living a life you love.
Self-care, self-discovery, and self-knowledge
are all different ways of saying the same thing.
They are all pathways to liberation and freedom.
So what are you waiting for? Start caring for yourself today!
I hope you enjoyed this article about self-care. When you are able to take time for yourself, you are better able to be in the “Moment” and understand yourself and others. Understanding yourself is one of the greatest tools you can have for living a fulfilling life. If you have any other questions or concerns about self-care, please contact me anytime at <contact>. Thank you for reading, I am always excited when one of my posts is able to provide useful information on a topic like this to help you find your way to discovering your greatest life-gem experiences!
Here is an article from Psychology Today explaining the power we have over our stories.