The start of a new year is always seen as the perfect time to reflect on the year that was and make resolutions for the year ahead. However, more importantly, it's also an opportune moment to take stock of our health and well-being, ensuring we're looking after ourselves as best we can. The following tips will help you stay healthy, happy and energised in 2023:
Be kind to yourself
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that taking care of yourself is a luxury. It's not—it's one of the most important things you can do for yourself, and in turn, for those around you.
Be kind to yourself. Be gentle with yourself. Practice self-care, give yourself a break, take a break from social media; whatever it takes! Take some time out each day to relax and just be with yourself: maybe treat your body like something beautiful (a spa day could be just what you need!). If you have children or pets at home who depend on you for their happiness, take some time alone too—have a bath or go for a walk in nature.
Take time for you
Take time to relax. It's easy to get caught up in the busyness of life, with all the tasks and commitments you have to keep track of. But it's important to remember that if you don't take the time to relax, your body will let you know about it through stress-related illnesses such as high blood pressure or heart disease. Some simple ways to unwind include taking a bath or hot shower, reading a book or magazine, listening to music, meditating, stretching or yoga.
Take time for yourself. While relaxation is an important part of taking care of yourself and recovering from bad habits like overworking or eating poorly during stressful periods in your life (like finals week), being selfish sometimes also means making sure that your needs are met first before those around you—even if they're demanding more attention than usual! For example: when someone asks me where I'm going after class tomorrow night I might say "you know what? I'm not sure yet so why don't we talk when we see each other later?"
Find an outlet for stress
The first step in finding a stress outlet is to identify what your stressors are. If you're feeling physically stressed, it's likely to be work-related or family related. If you're feeling mentally stressed, it could be work or home related. Once you've identified the source of your stress, think about things that can help relieve it: yoga classes, massage therapy sessions, regular exercise—anything that will make life easier for you and give yourself some time away from whatever's bothering you.
Boiling down the root cause of your anxiety into specific tasks helps keep those anxieties from snowballing out of control. Whether those tasks are small (like taking a walk) or large (like quitting your job), breaking down this long list into manageable chunks makes them seem less overwhelming overall and allows for more productive processing of each item on the list as well as its counterparts later in life (people who went through similar experiences often find solace in talking about their struggles).
Try something new
Try something new. Reflecting on the year that was, you may have missed out on a lot of experiences because you were too busy to take the time. The New Year is an ideal time to start doing things differently so why not start by learning a new skill and meeting some like-minded people? You could learn how to paint, cook or play an instrument. There are plenty of classes available in your local area and they often offer discounted rates at this time of year. If this sounds like something you would enjoy then sign up today!
Try something you have always wanted to do but never got around to doing before now - maybe it's seeing the Northern Lights or sky diving out over Cairns' rainforest canopy! Whatever it is make sure it's memorable because these are memories that will last forever.
Say 'yes' more often
Saying "yes" is one of the easiest ways to improve your life, and it doesn't have to be hard. It's important to say yes to things that make you happy, even if they take time away from other things.
When people are asked what their biggest regrets are, it's often something along the lines of "I should have done more for myself." If this sounds familiar, there's no better time than now for you to start being selfish! Make time for yourself in 2023 by doing the things that make you happy. If that means going out with friends or taking a class at night school, do it! If it means taking advantage of your employer’s flexible schedule options or working remotely on weekends so that you can spend more time at home with family or friends... go for it! You'll feel better about yourself if you do more of what makes YOU happy!
Looking after yourself is important and should be a priority
Self-care is important, whether you're a recruiter, in HR or an executive. And it should be a priority. But what exactly does self-care mean? Is it possible to measure and put it into practice effectively?
Self-care can be hard to prioritise when you're busy at work and have responsibilities outside of the office too. It also means something different for everyone. For some people, it may mean taking time out from work to do something they love; for others, it might mean getting more sleep or finding another way of managing stress levels at work. Some people find ways of doing this by prioritising their own health over everything else (e.g., going to the gym before heading into the office). Others might prefer not to make their fitness routine so rigid and instead take advantage of other opportunities that arise throughout the week (e.g., walking instead of taking public transportation).
Looking after yourself is an essential part of living a healthy and happy life, and this New Year we hope that you’ll find some ways to make it happen. We think these tips are a good place to start, but if they don’t resonate with you then go ahead and try something else! What matters most is finding something that makes sense for your own needs.
If you find yourself in need of support please do not hesitate to contact Kōwhai Therapeutic Services or follow us on instagram kowhai_therapeutic_services for daily inspiration thoughts, messages, reels.