7 Daily Practices to Help You Care for Your Mind

Dear Ms Anonymous,

Have you stepped into self-care March with an attitude of determination? Are you finally choosing to put yourself first by caring for your body, mind and soul?

Mind over matter

A lot of cultures have a stigma surrounding mental health. While they may understand that caring for your body is important, they don’t pay as much attention to what the mind needs. Emotional and intellectual self-care are two topics that I want to cover today, during self-care March.

Emotional self-care

Dealing with our emotions helps us manage daily stress, as well as anxiety and depression. Our emotions are also tangled up in healing from traumatic experiences. In our pasts we may have dealt with abuse, neglect, or other hardships at the hand of someone who was supposed to take care of us. But we must find healing.

The first thing I learned about emotional self-care is that it requires self-awareness. Yes, actually knowing what is going on inside of us. Why am I angry? What is making me so sad? What do I do that makes me happy? And taking the time to understand the connection between how our mood affects our behavior! (I know I need to do a personal deep-dive into that one!)

How do I care for my mind emotionally?

The business of emotional self-care requires a lot of hard work, and probably a lot of crying. And not because it’s all a sad process. But honestly, it requires us to take a long hard look at how our cup is being filled, and deciding if that’s how we want to continue to fill it.

Write in Your Journal

Support your emotional health by building behaviors into your schedule that will help you! This weekend, if you’re in Marshall’s or Home Goods, go to the stationary section and pick out a journal! They are under $5, and there are so many to choose from! When you have somewhere pretty to write down your thoughts, it makes it so much easier to engage in self-reflection.

Once you have your journal out, spend some time in silence thinking about who you are and who you want to be. Your journal is the perfect place to write about your new words and how they are changing your life. If you haven’t read my post about Choosing New Words in 2020, check it out right now!

Recite Affirmations

Affirmations are the words we say to ourselves out loud, or in our thoughts, that promote happiness, empower us to do our best, remind us of our true potential, and encourage us to live out loud. Do you know that it was only a few years ago that I learned about affirmations? Was I living under a rock?

If you don’t currently have any affirmations that you use to encourage yourself, write some down in your journal today. Then, every morning, read them to yourself out loud. And every night before bed, read them again.

One of my mentors, Lisa Nichols, has a great video where she talks about the role of affirmations in her ability to adopt an optimistic mindset. You’ve got to watch it!

Extend Self-compassion

Why is it that we are so much more compassionate with other people than we are with ourselves? We are overly critical with ourselves. The things we tell ourselves we would never tell a friend! We make ourselves feel like we are not enough, we set unrealistic expectations to achieve, and beat ourselves up for not accomplishing them.

Let’s stop doing that.

Instead, let’s start to focus on our strengths. Let’s build ourselves up!

We all have gifts and talents that we hide, or don’t explore, because we are afraid that someone else will notice us, or that we will shine. Let yourself shine!!

And even when you fail, give yourself some grace, and see it as another opportunity to succeed.

Show Gratitude

Do you remember in my post about Envy and Comparison, I talked about feeling like “not enough”? Practicing gratitude is a great way to release the feeling of not being enough. Not only that, not having enough.

When we stop to give thanks for what we have, the people in our lives, and all that we are, we create a shift in our perspective. We turn from a negative mindset (lack), to a positive mindset (abundance). And wouldn’t you prefer to live in abundance, than lack? I would!

Start practicing gratitude today. Pull out that handy journal you just bought yourself, and write down 1 thing you are grateful for every day! And watch how a simple act can start to change your life. Developing a gratitude practice will create a positive shift in your self-esteem, relationships, emotions, and your overall well-being.

How do I care for my mind intellectually?

Intellectual self-care is way easier than emotional self-care! In order to care for your mind intellectually, engage in activities that keep your mind sharp! Really, the possibilities are endless.

Engage in new activities

Read a book. Learn a new language. Take a class. Travel someplace you’ve never been. Find an interesting hobby. Start a side-hustle.

In your journal, write down some ways that you can engage in intellectual self-care. Spend some time really considering your interests, and finding ways to keep your mind active.

Develop a beginner’s mindset

In The Self-Care Prescription, Dr. Gobin encourages readers to develop a beginner’s mind-set. I never thought about that before. The thing about beginners is that they are super excited about what they are diving into. Think back to the last time you tried something brand new. Perhaps you felt a little bit of fear, but you know what else I bet you felt – excitement!

Beginners are not only excited about the results, but the process also gives them a thrill. As a beginner you allow yourself the grace to make mistakes, and then try again, until you succeed.

Seek opportunities to learn

The days when people found a career and stayed in that same field or position their entire lives is over. Millennials are constantly seeking a new opportunity. And if they can’t find an employer to give them one, then they create their own! Truly, it’s inspiring. (Also, a little terrifying!)

The thing about today’s generation of earners is that they don’t stay in the same place for too long. If there’s no growth in a company, they find someplace where they can learn something new, or do something different. They are not afraid of change.

When we think about the mind in relation to learning, we have no real excuse now. Everything we want to learn we have access to right at our fingertips. Between Google and YouTube, you really don’t have an excuse not to be constantly learning! So, if you’re feeling stuck, or just want a new challenge – learn something. You have access to all of the information you need to change your life – are you going to use it?

Our self-care journey continues

Next week I’m going to talk about soul self-care. And we will plunge into the topic of filling your cup by finding meaning in your work, using your gifts and talents, and work-life balance (if there’s such a thing). We’ll also reflect on discovering what matters to you through listening to your own voice, and how spiritual practices can enrich your life.

With love,

P.S. – We’re on this self-care journey together. I’m so glad you are here navigating the waters with me. Share a snapshot of your new journal and how you are spending your reflection time. #selfcaresaturday Can’t wait to see it!