The importance of self-nurture or why looking after your precious self is a necessity, rather than a selfish luxury.

Young woman reading book while lying in the bath with foam and candles

Why the struggle to nurture?

It surprises me every single time to see that what most people (me included) struggle most with on their journey towards uncovering their best self, is not getting up at 5 am to fit in some exercise or ridding sugar out of their lives.

No, it is establishing a healthy routine of self-nurture.

Sounds a bit crazy, doesn’t it?

Don’t we all love to indulge in some precious me-time and couldn’t we all do with more of exactly that in our crazily busy, fast paced lives? So why is it so hard then to sustain a good routine which includes daily rituals to replenish your energy? And why is it that it is mostly women who seem to be very capable of cutting out more time for everyone and everything else but for themselves? In my experience men seem to have absolutely no problem to stop and take some time out to recover when they feel tired, things get too much or they had a stressful day at work. So why is it so hard for us females on this planet to do the same?

 

Self-nurture: a selfish luxury?

It appears that to us women taking a break feels like a selfish luxury.

It feels naughty. Shouldn’t we try and fit more work into our day, finish this email, do school lunches, tidy up our kids and husbands mess lying all over the house? I

n a world where busy is thought to equal success, hitting the pause button simply because you are bit stressed, tired or worn out, feels wrong.

I get it. I really do.

I still have those little mental battles going on in my head when I sit down for a cup of tea and do nothing else but breathing in the delicious aroma of my cuppa, allowing my mind to go blank and fully give myself to this most welcome interruption of all the hustle and bustle. But I have come to understand that it is those most treasured tea breaks that actually keep me going. They are the key to my little and big successes and without them I would nowhere near I am today. No matter how much I would have scurried around.

Self-nurture: a necessity

The fact is that the demands and pressures we are trying to juggle on a daily basis are full on. And in order to deal with them the best we can, in order for us to uncover our best potential, be this best businesswoman, mother, wife and person we can possibly be, we need to hit the pause button. Not just once in a while but on a regular basis. Nurturing yourself means to take active steps to keep your mind, body and soul as healthy as possible.

Hopping off the hamster wheel regularly will

  • reduce your stress levels;
  • and in doing so reduce your belly fat;
  • improve your quality of sleep;
  • boost your energy levels, and
  • amplify your effectiveness in everything you do.

Moreover, you will find the more you look after yourself, the better you will be able to set healthy boundaries, take responsibility for your own problems and feel more empowered to solve them. This means you will see quicker and better results in whatever you aspire to do than if you did not.

In my experience as a health and wellness coach, personal trainer, mother of two gorgeous very lively girls and wife of a husband who is very good at knowing when to stop, our biggest enemy when it comes to achieving our health-and career goals and successes is stress. And the best and most efficient way to deal with stress is with self-nurture.

To give you a gentle but firm nudge into the right direction here are my 10 top quick tips for self-nurture:

  1. Get outside, be in nature
  2. Eat a healthy diet of delicious wholefoods
  3. Be active. Get moving.
  4. Repair your sleep cycles
  5. Breathe
  6. Give yourself permission to rest and relax.
  7. Be kind to yourself. No negative self-talk allowed.
  8. Don’t try to be perfect. Instead be authentic and unique.
  9. Have a soothing cup of herbal tea
  10. Meditate

So if you are serious about your goals and discovering the best version of yourself you can possibly be, then self-nurturing is a necessity. One you will learn to make time for. It might take a while until those little breaks of self-nurturing become second nature. Until they do, fake it.

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