Self care is a term that seems to encompass just about everything from spending an afternoon listening to music that you enjoy, to having the occasional spa session, to socialising with friends.
Today, there’s a growing awareness of the importance of self care, in addition to a significantly greater ability for the average person to dedicate time, energy and attention to what might be referred to as “self care” practices.
One area of self care that may not get as much attention as it deserves, however, is the simple act of regularly “checking in with” yourself each day in various ways.
When it comes to our loved ones, it’s safe to say we all more or less understand the importance of regular medical checkups, ranging from things like pediatric hearing care, to allergy testing.
Perhaps just as important as checkups, though, is an awareness of the cycles of your everyday life, and the way they impact your mood and sense of purpose.
Here are some tips for regularly checking in with yourself each day.
Pause to reflect on how you acted during the day
Before going to bed each night, sitting up for a time and pausing to reflect on how you acted during the day, can be extremely powerful in a number of different ways.
For one thing, it can help you to identify negative habits and tendencies in yourself that you need to address. For another thing, it can help you to experience a sense of pride and appreciation for the things that you did right.
It’s easy to go through daily life more or less on autopilot, but a bit of focused self reflection can be good too.
Look for regular opportunities to feel a sense of gratitude
Taking the time to regularly experience a sense of gratitude for the good things in your life is one of the most direct and effective ways of enhancing your overall sense of wellbeing. It may even help you to be more optimistic, too.
While everyone’s situations will differ, taking the time to pause and feel a sense of gratitude even — or maybe especially — for minor things like a tasty meal, or a beautiful sunset, can do a lot of good.
Bring your attention to the present moment and experience it more fully
Stress and anxiety tend to have a lot to do with our fears for the future — but when we are able to keep our attention quite well centred in the present moment, we usually find that we are able to keep moving forward and putting one foot in front of the other, step by step.
Not only can bringing your attention to the present moment help you to become more resilient, but it can also help you to better experience the joy and magic to be found in each moment as well.
One of the most significant ways of “checking in with yourself” can be simply checking in with the present moment.