“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.”

~ Jean Shinoda Bolen

It’s about simple self-care! And while the world-wide wellness market is working hard to get your money, you don’t need to break the bank to take care of you. Short bouts count, so you do have time.

Watch the video below to for 10 simple self-care tips that won’t break the bank, or read the transcript that follows.

 

Hey, Michelle Cederberg here out for an afternoon walk with our friend’s dog. We’re not quite ready to get a new dog since we’ve lost our beloved Lilly back in November, but we like dog sitting, and it’s giving me chance for a self-care time out to walk little Beaux. Hey, right, Beaux? Want to come and show yourself to the people? There she is. It reminded me of an article that I read in the Globe Mail on the weekend on the commodification of wellness, and how we’re paying for the self-care we crave.

So many of us are busy and stressed and not finding time to take care of ourselves. We can define self-care as the activities and behaviors that we do to promote well-being. Are you doing enough of that for yourself? Self-care can be about moving more, it can be about eating better, it can be hobbies and activities that we do for ourselves that help ground us and help us feel better. And most of us are so busy, we’re not finding time for any of that. And the market is responding by creating products and services to serve all of these self-care-starved consumers. That’d be you. That’d be me. That’s be anyone who is too busy to make time for themselves. It’s a massive self-care marketplace too, and it is creating products and services to the tune of $4.5 trillion worldwide.

I’m here to remind you that there are some great products that are available but we don’t need to spend money on self-care for it to be effective. Self-care can be as simple as the video that I did awhile back sharing three simple reminders for when life goes off the rails… make time to make yourself a cup of tea, give yourself enough time to stop what you’re doing and pee… or just breathe. Watch that video because it’s a good simple reminder. You don’t need to go purchase any of those ridiculous products off of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website (I refuse to share the link). Don’t get me started. Watch this video where I share a wellness wake-up call and talk about how I feel about that aspect of wellness.

Sure you can go out and buy Lululemon’s new beauty line called Self Care, or others like them, and while I’m sure they’re great products, self-care needn’t come with a price tag. I want to remind you instead of simple ways that you can just give yourself a bit of no-cost self-care every day.

Number one: Exercise, get out for a walk. Fresh air is so important in winter because we spend so much time indoors. The walk doesn’t need to be a long one… five, 10, 15 minutes at your break is great.

Number two: Meditate daily, first thing in the morning or on one of your breaks at work.

Number 3: Eat vegetables at every single meal because it’ll just make you feel better. Number four: Drink more water. That’s a simple, simple self-care idea that doesn’t cost a bit.

Number 5: How about a little bit of a.m. yoga or stretching just to start your day? Again, even 5 minutes will make you feel great.

Number 6:  I’m a big fan of daily gratitudes. As many of you know, I follow a website called gratitudeatwork.ca, created by my friend Steve Foran. I love checking in with other people’s gratitudes and writing my own. It’s very grounding.

Number 7: You can also boost self-care through the simple act of tidying. I talk about it in this video which I posted last week on why clutter-clearing is good for productivity. It just feels so good to tidy.

Number 8: How about finding just enough time to read even one chapter of a book that you’ve been wanting to get through? That’s self care.

Number 10: How about doing something creative? Baking or making is a great way to get out of your head and exercise a little bit of self-care.

And of course I’ll go back to that reminder of the simple act of finding time to go to the bathroom. That is self care at the most basic level, and you’d be surprised how often people tell me they don’t make it a priority.

As you’re going through your day, pay attention to what your head and heart are telling you that they need, then make time. Self-care doesn’t have to be time consuming, and it doesn’t have to be costly. Every little thing that you do to take care of you will go a long way in increasing your productivity and your overall sense of contentment and well-being.

I’m Michelle Cederberg reminding you you’ve got one chance to do this life. I say Dare to Live a Big and dare to do it with a little bit more self care. …Some of it needs to happen in the glorious outdoors, especially when it’s winter and it’s sunny out. Take advantage of it. All right, until next time. Have a great one…

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to my social channels below so you can see what else I’m sharing…  and share in the comments below the self care that you do for yourself that doesn’t cost a penny.

Michelle Cederberg, CSP, MKin, BA Psyc
CEP, CPCC, ORSC

Empowering today’s dreamers, leaders and go-getters to create the life and career they want.


www.michellecederberg.com
403-850-5589

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