taking care.
I go through patterns of ups-and-downs every so often. Maintaining a level-headed mind takes practice in both self-care and self-improvement. Reading, writing, walking and running are all forms of self-care for me. When I need to take a break from the phone calls and digital screens, I enjoy taking walks outside to clear my head. Deep breathes and body stretches to loosen up my body after sitting for an extended period of time.
I’ve always had a passion to create something, but I often get inside my own head that deters me from executing. Practicing self-care has given me the ability to strengthen my work-life balance and allows me to enjoy the ride more often. Over the past several months, I have been able to consistently create with all different types of people along the way.
defining self-care.
Many people don’t believe in the self-care and the importance in plays in our lives. It’s a key ingredient to happiness and can make all the difference in the world when you are scrambling to keep up with the daily hustle.
[ self-kair ] (n)
the act of attending to one’s physical or mental health, generally without medical or other professional consultation.
the products or practices used to comfort or soothe oneself.
Nobody is the same, but there are a handful of scientifically proven activities that can help boost your mood and improve your overall mantra of thinking. Going outside for natural sunlight, exercising to release endorphins and personal meditation time is always helpful for your body and mind.
There is no set rule as to what you should do or the amount of time you need to spend on yourself. It will vary for everyone. It’s a constant work in progress for all of us.
Perfection is the enemy of progress.
- @mindfulmedium (my fiancé)
As I was writing this piece this morning, my fiancé happened to have posted this and it couldn’t have resonated more with me in the moment. We all tend to be so hard on ourselves for not being perfect. We beat ourselves up for not looking like a model or not being a millionaire.
It’s OK to be your own imperfect-self!
There is no rush to the finish line. The fun is all in the journey. I find it helpful to remind myself about the need to enjoy the journey once in a while; it keeps me grounded with a better perspective on things
learning to be imperfect.
Perfection is a false-hope instilled in parents minds from the moment their children are born. Promoting perfection is a discouraging game to play for anyone. Nobody is perfect and any attempt to be a perfectionist will get trampled by real life.
Roll with the punches and keep pounding the pavement. There are constantly roadblocks along the way with a never ending supply of anxiety to sneak up on you.
use it for fuel.
The key is not to pursue perfection, but to continue building your own imperfect best-self. Rather than trying to be perfect, I strive to be a better version of myself each day.
I push myself to work harder and keep improving a small fraction day-by-day. In the book, Atomic Habits by James Clear, he dives into the journey of self-improvement. Getting better each day does not have to be a 50% gain on a daily basis. Instead, it’s useful to aim for a 1% improvement each day. It might sound like such a small increment. But a 1% improvement each day adds up to a 365% increase within the first year. 365% !
play the long game.
The problem people often face is consistency and commitment. That daily 1% self-improvement bump might sound easy, but the fact is that most people lose focus quickly. This is also a common problem for people trying to make a quick buck on the stock market. You can’t cut corners or try and take the easy way out in life.
Short-term thinking is a dangerous way to approach things in life. Short-term thinking leads to poor planning all around. Take ownership of your life, get ahead of yourself by planning ahead and stay focused on what you want to keep pursuing.
Be patient, take the time to plan out your goals and be diligent about pursuing your priorities. Stay the course and play the long game, it’s worth it.
If you’re searching for tips on how to build successful daily habits and want to learn self-improvement strategies, feel free to reach out.
Thanks for reading.
- mm