Living Self-Care: Body-Mind-Heart&Soul
To make self-care a lasting habit, we must redefine our priorities shifting our attention from what’s urgent to what’s truly important.
In Beyond the Eighth Habit, Steven Covey discusses four paths which correspond to the four aspects of health essential to self-care: body-to live; mind-to learn; heart-to love; and soul-to leave a legacy. If we devote time and attention to these, we will create optimal health, happiness, and life satisfaction, enhancing the lives of everyone around us.
Summary Suggestions:
1. Make your health and well-being a priority
2. Nourish your body with food, sleep, activity and rest.
3. Manage stress wisely.
4. Be a positive thinker.
5. Don’t make assumptions.
6. Accept yourself and others wholly.
7. Trust your inner guidance.
8. Nourish relationships with family and friends.
9. Respect yourself and others.
10. Do what makes your heart sing.
11. Practice compassion, kindness and forgiveness.
12. Connect with spirit through gratitude, service, and intention.
While we can’t control everything, we can create a life filled with health, happiness and purpose if we align our actions and thoughts with living self-care body, mind, heart and soul. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it count!
Today is the final day of the Mother’s Day Self-Care Contest/Challenge. If you haven’t subscribed to our blog yet, register by 11:59 CT tonight t win our fabulous prizes. Thanks for joining us. Hope you’ll stay with us and keep Living Self-Care.
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Joseph Campbell said. “Follow your bliss.” I never understood this until lately. I always thought, “Yeah, right! How can I do that with the kid screaming, the house dirty, work piling up, blah, blah.” It hit me a year or so ago what he meant. If I am patient, I will actually feel like doing the tasks that need to be done at some point. Everything that needs to get done does. I may need to direct my attention to my daughter now, but I will get the urge to finish paperwork later. “Bliss” doesn’t have to mean unbridled joy and peace…it can mean just “feeling like it” sometimes!
Stacey, I agree! Do you know what I discovered? If I’m willing to stop whatever work I’m doing to give my kids the attention they’re asking for, not only do THEY feel better, but so do I. And then, once they’re happy and not needing me at that moment, I can go back to whatever work I was doing. And it does get done. Probably not ever according to the schedule that *I* would prefer, but it does. And someday my kids will be grown and out on their own and I’ll have all the time in the world to clean my house, and I’ll miss those multitude of little interruptions in my day.
Sometimes moms prioritize their kids and their kids’ needs too much and don’t focus enough on self-care. I’ve been guilty of doing that, too, but I also have learned that taking time for my kids, and the little things each day that are important enough to them that they want me to pay attention to, also equals self-care for me. *I* get so much out of the various bursts of undivided attention I give them throughout the day…they teach me, they make me laugh, I just enjoy them so much that it lifts me up to lift them up and see how that little bit of attention fans the flames of their own self-love and self-confidence. I think too often we moms get caught up in all the “musts” of parenting and forget to really, truly enjoy our kids. That’s been such an important lesson for me to learn. They feed on my love for them, I feed on their love for me, and we’re all so much happier and healthier as a result.
My 9-year-old daughter wrote a very sweet poem for me for Mother’s Day. My favorite line is this one: “The way you look at me, it’s so special…it makes me feel so loved.” WOW! If I’m succeeding at that, and nothing else in my life, I’m going to consider mine a life well-lived. So for me, for now, in this moment, my kids are definitely my bliss. 😀
Love both your comments. With 2 young adults, I’ve absolutely learned to stop and take the time for them when they’re around and wanting my attention. It makes life so much easier. Again, I think that many of the things we convince ourselves we need to do are urgent rather than important. Being a mom has been my most important role in life, and while in the moment it’s not always fun, it’s what I love best.
Angela-I’d like to use your remarks for my Monday post along with a special video I have on “What Is A Mother.” Would this be okay? Warmly, Diane
I’d be honored, Diane. 🙂