Hearts and chocolate, or better yet, heart-shaped pieces of dark, yummy chocolate. What do these items remind you of? Naturally, you answered self-care.
Isn’t that at the forefront of everyone’s mind? Of course not. The concept is buried so deeply under other demands for your time, it probably took a minute to dig through your brain for an explanation of the words. It also gives reason for the imminent burnout, following you like a long winter shadow.
Find a comfortable seat, or step outside for some fresh air. This is a three-minute read, with the potential to help you shake burnout.
Knowing time is valuable, let’s cut to the chase. No one loves stress, but it is a part of life. One cannot escape it, nor would we really benefit from that. What does not have to be inevitable is burnout, the effect of relentless stress, without counterbalance.
We could argue that’s the point of vacation (if you’re lucky enough to have that benefit). Though I challenge that assumption, here’s why. Stress is a daily occurrence, vacation is typically a handful of days, scattered throughout the year. This is not balance, this is a seesaw effect. And a majority of the time, stress weighs heavily.
Back to why you need self-care. It’s one of the few ways you can counter the daily onslaught of stress. More importantly, it doesn’t take a lot of time. In most instances, you can do it in under 10 minutes. Self-care is especially beneficial when it becomes a consistent practice and reflects the many domains of your life. Let’s break this down into a few simple actions, for each domain.
Physical: Get adequate sleep, eat mostly nutrient dense foods (and small amounts of chocolate), and do something active, every day. Alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day.
Work: Engage in professional development to improve your skills, build working relationships, practice saying “no” so your workload does not upset your work/life balance.
Relationships: Connect with people (or pets). Send a quick text, visit the breakroom, or go for a walk. Participate in events to meet like minded people. Volunteer.
Emotional: Acknowledge and identify your emotions by name, let go of faked emotions – it’s OK to be less than happy all the time. Ready to change perspective? Counter each negative thought with one to five positives.
Psychological: Take a mini mental break. Read, play a game, draw/color, listen to or play music, or simply daydream. Regardless of what your kindergarten teacher said, daydreaming, in short spurts, promotes creativity and relaxation.
Spiritual: Pray, express gratitude or go outside and be undistracted with nature.
As I finish this column just shy of the deadline, I’m well aware that my body is responding to self-inflicted stress. But hey, I too fall victim to having too much to do, and too little time. The eight minutes it will take to walk around the baseball fields near the fairgrounds is just the self-care I need. I might even do a little daydreaming, or stop and listen to the river while I’m at it. Perhaps you too, are due for an act of self-care. Go ahead, try it, I think you’ll like it.
Nicole Clark is the family and consumer science agent for the La Plata County Extension Office. Reach her at nicole.clark@colostate.edu or 382-6461.
