50 Incredible Self-Care Ideas For You – to be your BEST and give your MOST!
“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.”
Katie Reed
In this post I’ll explain what self-care is and why it is crucial for every human being – me and you included! I’m also going to share my own self-care ideas list so you can get inspired to write your own list.
Self-care is often pushed off for last, or worse, is brushed under the rug. Especially for women. Which can leave you feeling stressed, exhausted, or feeling burnt out.
That is not good for you, no, no, no! If you forget to take care of yourself, or leave it for last, you’re not going to be feeling your best. And then you’re not going to be able to live the life you want. Or contribute as much as you dream of.
You can do something about that, and that’s why we’re talking about self-care ideas.
First, here are a few questions to ask yourself, to evaluate how well you’re doing when it comes to self-care.
- Are you feeling stressed?
- Do you hear yourself answer “yes” when you wished you said “no”?
- Are you taking care of others’ needs before your own? (When my kids needs take priority, this is what I do for self-care at the same time.)
- Have you been relying on someone else to take care of your needs?
Let’s start of with a definition:
The ‘self’ part of self-care is that you are the one who takes care of you.
The ‘care’ part of self-care is what you need to do to take care of you.
But, what does this mean, really?
It means that you are important, dear. You are.
And that your needs count.
So, first of all, take care of your basic needs. In real life that means getting sufficient sleep, eating nourishing and healthy food, establishing good hygiene, and making time for exercise.
Additionally, self-care includes your emotional needs. Make time for yourself. Spend time with people who you like to be around. Find someone who can listen when you need to talk. Have some fun, laugh, and find ways to stay positive. Get a hug when you need it.
There are endless ways to do self-care.
The conundrum is that most people who are not practicing self-care are busy taking care of others. But, when you take care of your needs first, you’ll have more energy to give to others.
Ironic, isn’t is?
Which reminds me of the message conveyed on every flight, on the topic of putting on oxygen masks in an emergency.
“If you are an adult traveling with a child, put on your oxygen mask first, then put on the child’s mask.”
If you’ve ever flown, you’ve heard this message on the in-flight service video. It’s standard and what it means is this – take care of yourself first so that you can be available to those who rely on you, like your children.
Like the quote above from Katie Reed:
“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.”
So, take a few minutes to think of self-care ideas that you can implement in your life. To focus your awareness, you might want to try out this quick mindfulness meditation first.
Now, let’s make it real by putting together a list.
It’s fun to write out a list of your top 20 self-care activities. Or 50. Maybe you can even get to 100! Or, if you like, you can draw everything that comes to mind when you think of taking care of yourself.
Here is my current self-care ideas list. It might change, but for now, these are my personal favorite 50 self-care ideas:
- Take a long, hot shower
- Have a strawberry banana shake
- Read a good book (if it’s not good, it doesn’t count!)
- Call my best friend
- Plant flowers or any other garden work
- Give myself a manicure
- Do a brain dump
- Pray
- Sing out loud
- Dance to fun music
- Go out to eat
- Paint or draw or any artsy activity
- Go to bed on time
- Prepare a healthy and yummy meal
- Do a puzzle
- Spend time with a loved one
- Cut fresh flowers and arrange on my table
- Go window shopping
- Browse Pinterest for ideas
- Write or draw in my journal
- Take a walk
- Read a magazine
- Sew a craft
- Make comfort food
- Bake chocolate chip cookies
- Scent the air by squeezing citrus peels
- Get a massage
- Get a hair cut
- Go swimming
- Exercise
- Do yoga
- Have a coffee
- Read the daily paper
- Drink herbal tea
- Send emails to long lost friends
- Do a guided imagery meditation
- Go for a run
- Light candles
- Go to the library
- Take a trip to the zoo
- Go shopping and buy a trinket for the house
- Visit an art gallery
- Sign up for a course
- Go on a hike in the forest
- Write a letter to yourself
- Take a power nap
- Drink enough water
- Lie on the hammock with my eyes closed… blissful
- Eat vanilla ice cream
- Put on my favorite music
If you haven’t yet, now’s the time to jot down your own list of self-care list ideas.
And then… you’re ready to move on to the next step, which is actually more important than the actual list itself!
And that is this – you’ve got to DO self-care.
Which will be amazing… because that means you are giving to you, energizing yourself, adding vitality to your life! So practice, choosing a self-care activity at whatever interval you feel like it would help you most.
When you do this, you are taking care of YOU. That is something you can be proud of!
So, remember to take care of yourself every day. To keep this list handy, you can save THIS PIN to your favorite Pinterest lifestyle board as a reminder!
So true, so important, really pertinent. Keep up the great motivation, inspiration and selfcaration!
Thank you, Amy. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!
# 1 to 4 are my most favorite and of course swimming. Self care is greatly needed. Once you take care of yourself you are better able to take care of others. Be your own best friend! Thanks for the long list. Will try some of the others.