5 Self-Care Tips

After months of sporadic posting, I am finally back to blogging. The workload of the past few months have pushed me into a semi-hiatus that has been booth stressful and beneficial for me. Not being able to update my blog has really stressed me out because I absolutely love blogging, but the small break that I've had has helped me unwind and work on extremely pressing matters that would've otherwise affected my blogging had I not taken care of it immediately.

For this blog post, I wanted to write about a couple of self-care tips that I've picked up in the last few months. These tips have been incredibly useful and have honestly made my life so much better. I thought it'd be great to share these tips with you in the hopes of helping at least one of you! So, without further ado, here are my top five self-care tips:

1. Give yourself a break.

Now, this one is very much up for interpretation, but whatever the interpretation may be, go ahead and do it. Whether it's letting yourself take a well-deserved and much needed nap or letting go of those standards of perfectionism you've placed on yourself, give yourself a break. I've been learning to do this these past few months and all I can say is that everybody should be doing this more often. Put that homework down and give yourself a 30 minute break! Get that top you've always wanted because who cares if crop tops aren't for your body size! Sometimes, the thing we might need in life is a break, so give yourself one. You deserve it.

2. Acknowledge your limits.

While stepping out of our comfort zones and persevering to push ourselves to be better people are great and important things, we also need to acknowledge the limits that we have. It'd be foolish to deny that they exist. If you physically can't stay up later than 11 at night, don't force yourself to stay up that late. If you can't lift a barbel weighing 60 pounds, don't force yourself to lift that heavy. If you opening up to your parents is something you aren't comfortable doing, don't force yourself to open up. The limits are there to let you know the extent of your reach and capabilities. Some limits are changeable and some are not. What is foremost important is learning how to work on and with these limits. But you'll never how to do that if you don't acknowledge that you have them in the first place.

3. Make time for your passions.

This has been a struggle of mine since I was in my fourth year of high school. The workload since then has only gotten heavier and the schedules more hectic, and so my passions such as this blog, baking, and reading have really suffered. The work we do in school, at work, and even in church is important but we also need to find time for the work that we do outside of these places. When I began to set aside time to work on my passions, I found myself feeling so much better physically, mentally, and creatively. The work I produced for both my passion projects and my school work became more genuine and out-of-the-box. I even felt more motivated and energized to work on my homework and go to class. Most of the time, it's our passions that we sacrifice so that we can do better in life, but in reality, it's these passions that push us to live life to its fullest.

4. Be mindful of what you eat.

Because of my hyperacidity and mild lactose intolerance, I really do have to practice this tip regularly. But in doing so, my body has reacted positively more than just having a healthy and happy stomach. If my friends invite me to have ice cream or milk tea and I refuse because of my lactose intolerance, not only do I save myself from a trip to the bathroom but I also don't indulge in sweet and fattening food. And that's great for me because I don't get to exercise as much as used to and so eating those kinds of food can really take its toll on me. I've found myself thanking myself for being mindful of what I ate that day, and maybe you will to! So, whether you have some condition that really requires you to watch what you eat or not, make it a habit to be mindful of what you eat. 

5. Hydrate yourself!

It's been extremely hot here in the Philippines lately, and although we're a tropical country, the heat has just been too much. So, my personal tip for this one would be to hydrate yourself! They say that eight to ten glasses of water a day is unusual and just an average, but in this kind of heat, those eight to ten glasses might just be what you need! I would suggest you bring a canteen or tumbler of water with you if you're commuting to school or work because we can't rely on the air-conditioning of public transportation to ease ourselves from the heat. I know there are also apps that are specifically designed remind and help you drink more glasses of water each day. I've never tried one before, but I've heard that they've been really useful! Overall, do what you can to stay hydrated because your body will need it especially in this kind of heat!

If you have any self-care tips that you personally love and practice, I would love to know them. Leave them in the comments below and I will be reading all of them!

Until next time,
Luis

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