Self-care habits are among the most important. They show the world that you care about yourself. More importantly, they show you that you care about yourself.

It’s important to take care of yourself. No one is more interested in your care than you are. Maybe your mother cares more, but she’s not available 24/7 like you are.

Too many of us are too focused on helping others and not focused enough on our own care. You can’t do much for others if you’re not taking good care of yourself. Make yourself a priority, and you’ll be more useful to those in your life.

Care for yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally with these activities:

1. Grooming. This can be a good gauge of your mental health. Those with significant mental health issues often neglect their grooming. It’s important to look and feel your best each day. It’s amazing how much a good shower, shave, and flossing can do for your mood and attitude.
2. Healthy diet. It’s hard to rise above the quality of food you put into your body. Even with conflicting diets and advice out there, you have a good idea of what foods are healthy and which aren’t. Experiment with different diets and take note of their effects on your mood, sleep, energy, and focus.
3. Exercise. Exercise has a positive effect on your mind and body. Exercise enhances your ability to sleep, uplifts your mood, and can increase your longevity. The current recommendation from the medical community is to engage in at least 2.5 hours of exercise per week.
4. Practice gratitude. Gratitude is good for your soul. It creates hope and contentment even in trying circumstances. It’s easy to forget how much you already have if you’re not practicing gratitude each day.
5. Practice forgiveness. Forgiving others has a powerful effect on your physical and emotional health. It also frees your mind from negative recurring thoughts and allows you to make more progress in your life. You’re only stealing time from yourself when you hold on to negative feelings toward others.
6. Sleep. Set up a regular schedule for sleeping and stick to it. It’s not too hard to convince yourself of the importance of sleep. All you have to do is skip one night to experience the powerful impact of sleep on your wellbeing.
7. Spend time with others. You can’t spend all of your time alone and remain emotionally healthy. It’s necessary to interact with others. How much human contact is needed varies greatly from one person to another. No matter how much of a loner you might be, though, spending time with others matters.
8. Spend quality time alone. Spending time with others is important, but it’s important to spend some time alone, too. Everyone needs to get away and be alone once in a while. Again, how much time you need to spend alone is an individual preference. Make time for this important self-care practice.

Have you ever noticed that your self-care suffers when you’re down in the dumps? Have you ever noticed how much better your self-care is when you’re feeling positive and healthy? The quality of your self-care is a great barometer of your overall wellbeing.

Good self-care practices are also an effective way of keeping yourself firing on all cylinders.

If you’re feeling down and out, give extra attention to your self-care. You deserve the time and attention. 

As a junior in high school I was pregnant with my son and as I approached my senior year I had him that November. During the pregnancy and the time that passed there were a lot of things I could not do because I was pregnant and I would not do because I was embarrassed.

I spent a lot of time thinking that my life was literally coming to an end because I had one what everyone warned that no teenage girl should do….. and that was get pregnant.

Fast forward to 2017 where I am no longer that embarrassed little girl and when you consider that I am unmarried, 7 years into a partial hysterectomy and its been 2 months since I had a left ovary removed.

If I could reach out to that 17 year old girl I would tell her that God has everything under control and that you will be just fine.

So often we beat ourselves up because we made mistake when the reality is that God already knows what’s ahead.

He knew that I would suffer from fibroids starting at the age of 25 which would not only plague me with ongoing female issues but it would also literally result in me becoming infertile.

So as you encounter those things that don’t make sense, find solace in knowing that everything happens for a reason.