C is for connect ✨ in your personal CARE kit
How this has helped me flourish in health & happiness
A new system for selfcare
Though I’ve been much more mindful of how I nourish and take care of myself over the last decade - especially after becoming a Mom and being responsible for another human being - I’m continually on this lifelong journey. And I love it. (There’s always something to improve, heal, or optimize!)
I’m healthier, stronger, and feel so much better in my mid-40s than when I was half this age.
As long as we’re alive, selfcare never ceases if we want to continue to enhance our lives and get closer to our natural state which is being well and maintaining it.
As humans, we’re happiest when we’re striving for excellence in a chosen domain. For me, it’s feeling my best which trickles into every aspect of my life. ‘Feeling my best’ may seem selfish or trivial but I know it will also train our daughter to do the same for herself. This means taking the best care of my body, my brain, and my overall wellbeing. People often get caught up on being ‘perfect’ but the more developed mindset is to determine what’s perfect for you. What’s perfect for one will oftentimes not be the same for others. We must find our own path.
How do you know what’s right for you?
Start by doing. Experiment. Play. Test. Explore.
My personal selfcare kit includes a powerful, multifaceted approach that objectively tracks four key components and has helped me learn what’s perfect for me in this current chapter of life:
Connect to self & others
Active body & mind
Rest & repair
Eat well
✨ Connect ✨
Every day I take two minutes and do a body scan to connect with myself. I close my eyes and start about a foot above my head. I rest there for a few seconds to ground myself (yes, up there) 🙂 and gradually scan my body moving down to my feet.
Where is my body speaking to me?
What does it say?
What does it want?
I draw a rough human figure, mark those areas that speak to me, and write a few words down to describe them.
If I have a specific goal - like generally slimming down or lowering my visceral fat (which is the type of fat associated with higher risks of chronic diseases) - I jot that down so I can see the changes over time. Don’t rely on memory because we humans think we know but oftentimes forget or remember incorrectly.
No one needs messy data. 🤓
Sometimes I jot down what I’ve eaten (if I want to be exact, I track it on cronometer.com) because there is always a direct correlation between how my body feels and how I’m nourishing it. Or not.
TIP: If you don’t have your eating plan down tight, jotting down what you’ve eaten is an excellent way to learn what makes your body feel happy (or harmed).
I welcome each new month by skimming the previous month’s body scans and notes. I highlight anything that jumps out at me. (This is called heat mapping.) These become key learnings for me to keep in mind for the present month.
I consider myself to be a fairly self-aware human but I have learned a tremendous amount about myself with my body scans and notes. Taking these 2-5 minutes each day has proven to be well worth the time and little effort. If I miss a day, I pick it up the next day - no big deal.
What’s most powerful about this practice is that no doctor, psychiatrist, or expert can give me this level of intimacy and information about my own body.
Each day I also make sure I connect with at least one being. It’s easy for me since I live with two humans and a puppy. If I didn’t however, I’d get the connection from a friend through social media or old-fashioned texting or emailing. Most days, there isn’t time to come together in person so at the very least, a digital contact is nice.
These two connection points are critical for continually conditioning myself for health, happiness, and prosperity.
“We miss so much about this insane lottery we’ve won: being alive today.”
-Michael Easter
📓 Your homework
Can you try a body scan this weekend? How about right now?
What came up for you? Write it down
Next week, I’ll take you through the next stage: Active body & mind (in that order).
Until then, have a great weekend!
J xx