So this post isn’t actually about crocheting, knitting, crafting, or anything like that. It’s about self-care.
I will be the first person to admit I haven’t always loved myself. I think learning to love yourself for its imperfections is a big part of “growing up”. Some people may be filled with confidence and have always had a great sense of self-worth, but not all of us have been so lucky. I’m writing about self-care because it is a vital part in my remembering to show myself love in different ways each day. Self-care is not only important, it can be the difference between a really bad day and a pretty okay day. I recently had a few bad days in a row, right before I had started a new job. Juuust great. I felt tired, stupid, purposeless, and definitely not ready for this new adventure. Those bad days inspired me to shine some light on my life and open up a little about my self-care methods.
Each person’s method of self-care is different and unique to them. Some may find that their method includes a glass of wine and a good book while others may do yoga or head bang to 90’s Grunge. The things that I do are unique to me and may not do anything good for you. (Sorry!) But here’s a list of some of my favorite self-care methods:
- Meditative stretches in a hot bath while listening to trap (I prefer RL Grime).
- Crocheting while watching crime television (Criminal Minds, please!)
- Running my heart out for about 1-2 miles while listening to, you guessed it, trap. ( I have a YouTube playlist of songs that I “can run faster to”).
- Brushing my teeth (sometimes, on a particularly bad day, I’ll brush’m 5-6 times).
- Pruning and spending time with my plants. I have a pretty substantial patio garden, mostly tomato, jalapeños, and bell pepper plants. But spending time pruning and talking to my plants calms me. You can’t move too fast with plants or you could overwater something or even break off branches (no bueno!), so I thoroughly enjoy just tending to them. And I enjoy imagining my garden spanning so much further when I get some more space!
- Brushing, braiding, unbraiding, and re-braiding my hair. I have always loved when someone plays with my hair (as long as it’s invited haha), so I like to do this to kind of give myself a little head massage. It feels nice and if I get a cute hair-do at the end then… COOL!
- Yoga (short 10-15 minute sessions) but it’s a whole process. From choosing my outfit, clearing the space in my living room, choosing a video, and laying out my mat. I go very slowly through my poses while trying to put all my focus on my breath.
- Unplug! I usually do this while I crochet or do yoga so it ends up being pretty easy to do since my hands are busy.
- Singing: I actually love to sing, and (I think) I’m pretty okay at it. But I hardly ever sing in front of anyone — not even my fiance. It’s my personal thing. I can be truly free when I sing and it feels so nice to get loud sometimes without bothering anyone in the house.
- CLEANING! I love to clean (except for dishes, blegh!) I clean my house (or at least try to) every week or so.
- Getting inspired creatively! Sometimes, I’ll leave my debit and credit cards at home and go to a craft or thrift store to get inspired for new projects. (If I bring $$, I’ll spend $$ so I can’t bring $$ unless I plan to spend $$!)
- Go on a walk with my boys (I have to very active dogs — Ubba and Joey) and they are at least 2 and half handfuls so I like to take them to the park to get their “crazies out”!
- Pinning! Hahahooooh yeah! I’m a pinner alright! But really… sometimes, when done right, Pinterest can be really motivating and inspiring on days when you really don’t feel or even want to feel motivated or inspired. I personally love looking at gardening or crochet/knit ideas just to get those creative juices flowing.
- Cycling. This one is pretty new. So for my birthday this year, my fiance purchased me a road bike. And although it’s been raining pretty constantly in between blazing hot days in the part of the big TX where I live, I’ve got to say cycling is quite therapeutic. I’ve only just recently started the hobby, but it keeps me active and allows me to truly shut off all the other things in my head. Can’t hear that F-150 coming up behind me if I’m listening to music or not paying attention.
I am listing these here to share with anyone who may not have a self-care regimen.
Self-care is so beneficial. We all can agree on that at least, I hope. But what’s great is that self-care can be anything that positively effects you mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, or physically. I hope my list gives you an idea of what self-care can be. There’s no boxes to fill here, no expectations or judgement. Just pure, personal self-compassion and it is all up to you to figure out.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care.
Quiet Mind Fibers 