Taking care of oneself should be a #1 priority!   Often times, it does get neglected.  If you take care of yourself, you can take care of others.  If you take care of yourself, you can enjoy life more.  If you take care of yourself, you can stop and smell the roses and realize that life is beautiful!

I wanted to write a blog DEDICATED to self-care because it’s that important.  It is something I highly value in my lifestyle and think it is a complete game changer for your habits and your routine.

Let’s start off with what is self-care!? Well, it’s pretty straight forward.  Taking care of yourself!  The thing with self-care is it can absolutely mean different things to different people.  I am here to share with you what works well for me but don’t be afraid to make it your own.

To me, it has several meanings.  I love it for my wellness and health! But my favorite thing that it impacts is my mindset and thinking. Your mind is your most powerful asset.  If you take care of it, if you protect it, you can do anything!  Self-care helps preserve my positivity and allows me to be my best through clear thinking.

Now before we get into some of my self-care bad a** tips, I want to ask you to subscribe to my YouTube channel.  I talk about all things wellness, self-improvement, mindset and even dive into my own sobriety journey.  You can find the link right here!:

Meditation & Gratitude

Okkkkkkkkkkkk!  Where are all my type A, anxious, nonstop thinkers at!?  That archetype of person is me to a T and I am here to hit you with a great self-care routine that should be a MUST in your daily practices.  I honestly think this should be a MUST for everyone, even if you aren’t a type A.

If you are constantly thinking of what’s next, not celebrating your victories or slowing down your mind then this practice should be at the top of your list.   Meditation and gratitude practices can work wonders.  All the super successful people AND the happiest people practice both of these techniques. Let’s break it down with one thing at a time.  

Let’s start with meditation.  This is an amazing practice that helps your mind and body stay present.  I like to start and end my day with meditation.  Now, before you think you need to do this for hours, that’s simply not true!  Doing this for a few minutes can go a long way. The reason I love it at the start of the day is because I can really enjoy my morning.  It keeps me calm and in the right headspace.  

At the end of the day, it helps me destress and calm down from a long and “on the go” day.  If you go to YouTube and type in guided meditation, you can find some great videos that will help guide you through this practice.  I encourage everyone to try this – it’s a game-changer!

Now let’s talk about gratitude!  Why this is important is because you need to celebrate what you HAVE.  If you don’t celebrate what you have in life, it will never be enough.  I have a rule that I need to write down 3 things I am grateful for at the start of every day.   It can be as simple as a good night’s sleep to my cup of strong coffee to the incredible people in my life.  This helps to put things into perspective and helps me realize how good I truly have it.

Being grateful for what you have is the key to fulfillment and happiness..

Movement

I’ve titled this movement rather than exercise because self-care is moving your body.  You don’t have to go to the gym, you don’t have to run for 2 hours.  All of that is nonsense!  You should do what 1. Makes you happy 2.  Aligns with your goal 3. Something you can stick with consistently.

If you commit to walking your dog 30 minutes per day and it brings you joy and helps you to get in your exercise that aligns with your goals, then that’s perfect.

We are made to be active.  Being active is not only great for our physical health but can work wonders for our mental health as well.  As with anything, add some movement into your daily regimen but start small and work to build it up with time.

Having trouble finding that motivation in the morning?  Check out my YouTube video on how you can start having really great mornings!

Reading

Let me start with rephrasing this to CONSUMPTION.  What we consume with our minds is just as important as to what we put into our bodies.  I am a firm believer that you should consume positive material and content that lines up with your goals.

This can be reading but could also be in the form of podcasts, YouTube etc.  We are what we think about.  If people are consuming negative news or social media it can really affect their mental wellbeing, mood and day.

I love starting my day (after my gratitude & meditation) with reading a bit of a great book or watching a powerful YouTube video right before the gym.  It helps to fire me up for an incredible day.

Think about it like this, let’s flip the script a bit.  Let’s say you wake up and check your phone immediately, see bad news or something that just irritates you.  How do you think your day will go?  Probably not the best.  It will for sure start off rocky but starting your day irritable is never a good thing.

Now, let’s say you skip your phone in the morning and you read a book that you love or pull up a video of one of your favorite creators that brings you joy and positivity to your morning.  How do you think you will feel then?  Probably pretty damn good!  Make this a habit and great things can happen.

If you want to see all 8 on my list that I love and recommend check out the link below!

Thank you for checking out my blog and my YouTube! 
You have the power to control and change your life but first you must start with taking care of your body and your mind.
Any feedback or input is always welcome!  Please email me at hello@ripstyl.com