Self-care: Strategies for Success
If you’ve ever made New Year’s resolutions, you know they can be hard to keep, even if you’ve set only one or two goals for yourself. When your aim is to improve several areas of your life all at once, it’s that much harder. That’s why it’s important to set yourself up for success. The following approaches may help.
Find motivation in positive changes
Once you give healthy living a chance, you won’t want to go back to unhealthy ways. Making healthy lifestyle changes will help you feel better in mind, body, and spirit. But don’t take our word for it. Experiment and see for yourself. Notice how you feel after making changes—whether reconnecting with an old friend, practicing self-compassion for a day, or taking a much-needed time-out. If you feel better, try to hold on to that feeling, and let it motivate you to continue.
Expect lapses
Start with the realization that perfection is not possible. Just because you ate too much ice cream one night doesn’t mean you will never achieve a healthy diet. You should expect lapses from time to time when making a change. Rather than seeing lapses as signs failure, understand that they as part of the process and are teaching moments. Can you identify why you slipped up? Was it hard to get back on track? Did you feel better when you did?
Chart your progress and reward your efforts
Keep track of your improvement by noting how each effort to make change went. Be patient with yourself. Deeply ingrained habits that have taken a lifetime to establish cannot be undone in the space of a few weeks.
Don’t forget to reward yourself for the changes that have worked. Rewards such as a relaxing bath, a massage, or an outing that you wouldn’t normally take the time for are great ideas. Ultimately, however, the real reward will be how much better you feel. That’s a prize you can collect every day.
For more information on self-care practices, check out Self-Care , a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.
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