Category: Self-Care

Caring for our soul involves the spiritual area of our lives. Spirituality “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things” as defined in dictionary.com. What does this mean to each of us as individuals?

Spiritually means different things to each of us and is connected to our beliefs, values, needs, and our inner selves. Values define what we believe to be important to our lives and confirm our true selves.

Acknowledging and understanding our beliefs and personal core values enables us to confidently make decisions about how we live our lives and nurture our souls.

Caring for our soul is linked to, and supports, our health and well-being. It is as important as caring for our physical body by eating well, exercising and sleeping enough.

Stephen Covey talks about the four key areas of our lives:
●Physical: Exercising, eating well, getting enough sleep.
●Social/emotional: Socializing, having time away, taking up a hobby, having fun.
●Mental: Stimulating your mind, reading, learning, listening to podcasts.
●Spiritual: Rejuvenating your soul, spending time in nature, considering your sense of purpose, who am I and what do I do?

When we have an holistic balance of these areas, we thrive.

Caring for our soul involves the spiritual area of our lives and connects to our health and well-being.

Tips for caring for your soul: Meditation/mindfulness that leaves you refreshed and energised; gratitude, focus on the positives in your life; give positive attention and focus to what you want; trust all will work out as it ought; learn to forgive yourself and move on; do small things you enjoy; embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and apply the learnings to future ventures; connect with nature.

It takes intentional change to make self-care a priority and create new habits.

Some suggestions to get you thinking: eating well; getting enough sleep; socializing; time away; hobbies; fun; learning; reading; listening to podcasts; time in nature; considering your sense of purpose; who I am; and what do I do.

What else can you add and integrate into your life?

We often place unrealistic self-expectations on ourselves. Sometimes this is because we feel the pressure of expectations from others, at other times we just want to do more, or better, than is reasonable. We can become so fixated on achieving these unrealistic expectations that we feel we have let ourselves and others down when we are unable to meet them!

When we expect too much from ourselves it can be damaging to our self-esteem and well-being and is associated with burnout!

Tips for keeping expectations realistic: clarify your values, know your limits, don’t over promise, choose flexible deadlines, and be prepared to modify your expectations if obstacles arise along the way.