Ritualize Your Self-Care
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Is your self-care goal becoming more of a habit, now? If so, that’s good. If not, maybe you need to make your self-care into more of a ritual. Ritualizing a task takes focus and makes it more meaningful. You are very mindful of what you’re doing and why. It becomes something you practice regularly. And rituals lay the groundwork for remarkable accomplishments.
Keep in mind that rituals are different than routines. While routines can be daily tasks like making your bed or taking a shower, rituals are more profound behaviors that give you a strong sense of purpose. With rituals, it’s more about the experience than the completion of the task itself.
To create a ritual around your self-care goal, follow these steps:
- Prepare your environment: If your goal is to exercise each day, choose your work-out clothes the night before so you’re ready to go. Or if your self-care involves meditation, have a designated quiet place to sit. Or if you’re going to journal, have your book and pen set out and ready for writing.
- Find your window: Choose the time of day when you’re most apt to complete your self-care. Is it first thing in the morning? Or is it more of a bedtime ritual? Or is it tied to another part of your already established routine?
- Focus on the experience: As Ram Dass is famous for saying: Be here now. Be conscious of what you’re doing and how good it feels to be gifting yourself with some care. Make it meaningful.
- Celebrate: Congratulate yourself for taking time out of your busy life to engage in your self-care.
The most influential step you can take to prioritize your health and well-being is to build a self-care ritual. You've already formed habits. Now it’s time to give them meaning and turn those healthy habits into rituals.
For more inspiration, explore what other nurses are doing in our blog post: How Do You Routinely Practice Self-Care?
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Blog Challenge Tips
09/19/2023 2:53pm CDT
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