Self Care Is a Lifestyle – 5 Ways to Practice Self-Care at Home

Self care is – and should be – part of an individual’s lifestyle. Only by taking the time to take care of yourself, rest, and recharge your batteries will you be able to tackle any obstacles that may come your way and overcome any challenges. The reason why we say that self-care is a way of life is that it involves doing things that can only be beneficial to you on a daily or weekly basis. Taking care of oneself shouldn’t be a part-time job or an every-once-in-a-while activity. Indeed, when life gets hectic, and you find it difficult to balance everything out, it is understandable that taking the time for yourself and allowing yourself to catch your breath may seem like a waste of time. Plus, it isn’t recommended to force any of the following practices that involve you taking care of yourself.

Self-care should come naturally and on your own terms, and in your own time. For this reason, if you are the kind of person who hasn’t really prioritized this until now and is having a hard time allocating some moments for themselves, it is essential to take it to step by step and not make out of self-care just another task. But don’t worry – you are not alone. This article is what you need to get you started.

You don’t necessarily have to go to a spa or in a remote retreat in order to make self-care part of your life. The good news is that you can start by doing this in the comfort of your home because self-care is present in the smallest things, from drinking a cup of your favorite tea in the evening while reading a book or watching a good movie to meditating and prioritizing your needs. Slowly but steadily, you will manage to put yourself first. Doing this will make you better prepared to support your friends and family and perform well in your professional life as well.

So, how can you make self-care your lifestyle? How can you practice self-care at home? Here are five ways to get you started:

1. Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Long Relaxing Bath

Taking a bubble bath, putting some music on, and reading a great book can be an incredibly effective method of relieving anxiety symptoms or de-stressing yourself after a day full of work and running from one task to the other. This can be an ideal way of practicing self-care and detaching yourself from any negative thoughts. Taking a long relaxing bath and doing essential skincare are excellent ways of having a home spa day or evening as frequently as you want.

Plus, you can go as extra as you wish. Who says you cannot include scented candles, various kinds of bath bombs, or salts? Depending on your preferences and style, your relaxing bubble bath can look as luxurious as you want.

2. Prioritize Getting a Good Night Sleep and Proper Rest

Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. Getting enough rest and making sure you sleep well during the night are crucial aspects of self-care. This way, you ensure that the next day you wake up with your batteries recharged and ready to tackle any obstacles and fulfill your day’s goals with good energy. Otherwise, not getting enough sleep can worsen negative thoughts and feelings, making you more prone to anxiety disorder.

If you have trouble sleeping, there are some things you can do to ensure you get a good night’s sleep. First and foremost, you should never bring your work or assignments to a place dedicated to resting. Another suggestion is to purchase high-quality sheets made from breathable materials and wear ultra-soft and moisture-wicking pajamas that promote complete comfort.

3. Focus On Allocating Valuable “Me” Time

It is of the utmost importance to find the time to treat yourself like you deserve. For this reason, after a day full of activities, responsibilities, chores, and work, it is essential to allocate some “me” time once you get home. Indeed, social life is also crucial for your self-care, and meeting with your loved ones is vital for your well-being.

This being said, personal time can be easily overlooked when you need to fit many things – working or studying, seeing friends and family – into one day’s schedule. So, as important as prioritizing your social life, it is just as crucial to allocate valuable “me” time. This means doing only the things you love in the evening or on some weekends when your energy levels are relatively low, and you need recharging. Don’t be afraid to spend time with yourself.

4. Include Some Form of Exercise in Your Life

Indeed, having to include some form of exercise in your life can quickly transform into a task that you would rather not do, especially for individuals who are extremely busy. But the good news is that exercise can take many forms, not necessarily going to the gym if that’s not really your cup of tea.

Whether you sign up for a beginner’s Yoga or Pilates glass, you start cycling or begin a sport, such as swimming; it is all up to you and depends on your preferences and daily schedule. Regardless of what you choose, the important thing is to make sure you include this in your lifestyle. This means preventing sedentarism, improving your overall health, increasing your energy levels, which all represent self-care.

5. Disconnect From Digital Devices

Nowadays, with so many digital devices available and excessively present both in your professional and personal life, it is vital to disconnect from them every once in a while and focus your attention on your surroundings. So, you should practice digital detox as much as it is possible. For example, during the weekend, you can allocate at least a few hours during the day when you don’t prioritize using your smartphone or other devices.

Apart from listening to some feel-good music when going for a walk or even during chores around the house, you should try to reduce the use of digital devices for your well-being. If the weather is nice, choose to spend some time outside, either by yourself or with a few friends. This way, not only do you practice self-care and take care of your mental and physical health, but it is also an excellent opportunity to get creative. Who knows, maybe you’ll start a new hobby, like painting.

Self care

How To Find Hope In Desperate Times and Smile Again

Life is hard. In vain we try to pretend that life is easy, the reality is that sometimes life is unfair and hard. For many situations there are not even half-effective solutions. Many times we simply do not know what to do to solve a situation. Who to call to help us? There is no one who can help us and we can’t help ourselves either. How to find hope in desperate times?

It is quite difficult to find hope in situations where nothing is going well. However without hope life is even harder. In desperate times, try at least to keep your hope up. But how can you keep your hope when life is so hard.

You need a deeper philosophy of life. That is, you need deeper thoughts to give you hope in these difficult times. Many times these deep thoughts were told to us by our parents or we read them in a book. Here are some small recommendations on how you can keep your hopes up in desperate times.

1. Beauty Is Found In Simplicity

The moment you notice beauty, your hope returns. Fortunately, there are many beautiful details around us, wherever we are. One of them is the sky. You can always look up and look at the sky to lift your spirits a little and feel confident again. Confidence in the beauty of life generates hope. Because ugliness generates a decrease in hope. Try to contemplate a beautiful little detail that you have at hand. It can even be a small object that is dear to you. The small details contain a lot of beauty, because beauty is found in simplicity.

2. Have Patience

The ability to be patient is directly correlated with the level of hope. The moment we lose patience, our hope diminishes dramatically. Think that all things and events are transient. Unfortunately or fortunately everything will pass. Yes, of course you want the bad things to happen faster and the good things want to last longer. We all want that. But life is composed of a mixture of pleasures and troubles. Sweet moments would not be so beautiful if we did not have some troubles in our life.

3. Slow Things Down

When you start to lose hope, it is an alarm signal that you feel overwhelmed. Give yourself permission to slow things down for a while. Just think about today. Leave the future. The future has an extraordinary ability to take care of itself. You don’t have to worry about the future. You need to only care about today. Survive today as best you can, until dusk, then go to bed a little earlier. You deserve it. Leave the whole world and your own life in someone else’s care for today.

4. Read a Wise Book

Wisdom generates hope. A deeper understanding of reality helps you a lot to have a high level of hope. Somehow, when you feel that you are losing hope, your level of wisdom temporarily diminishes. Go back to a wise book you read in the past or read a new book. Don’t read something dramatically with an ugly and hopeless ending. Read something that will give you strength and motivate you. Also, don’t read a book that is too hard, because you don’t want to add even more weight to yourself. It would be best to re-read a wise book you have read in the past. It will definitely help you.

5. Talk To A Friend

Talk to a friend, mother, father, brother or sister. In desperate times, communicating with a friend or a person who has known us for many years helps a lot. Don’t hesitate to say everything you think. Tell them all your thoughts from those moments. Wait to see their reaction and listen to what they tell you. If you are both in the same situation or you have been in the same situation in the past, talking about this common life experience will help you a lot, you will see. Don’t hide from people who have known you for many years. Nobody can compensate for the value they offer you, because no one can know you in a few days as they know you from so many years.

6. Write Your Thoughts

Write your thoughts on paper. Try to write freely. That is, to write down all the thoughts that go through your mind even if they are the worst possible thoughts. If you think that someone might read what you are writing, break and throw away the sheet after you have written your thoughts. As you write down your thoughts, do not try to lift your spirits and motivate yourself. Do not deny your negative thoughts. Don’t tell yourself it’s nonsense. Just write the thoughts on paper. Try to write a single page with the darkest thoughts you have from those moments. Don’t write more than one page and don’t hide some of your thoughts.

7. Do Something Small and Simple For Yourself

When we lose hope, we also lose the ability to do good things for ourselves, which leads to an even greater loss of hope. This vicious circle can be broken very easily when we do a small and simple thing for ourselves consciously. Doing something for yourself to feel better greatly increases the degree of hope. Extend the bath you take a little more. Sit on a bench in the park and contemplate the nature for some minutes. Read a good news of an event that is happening in the world or that has already happened. Take a nap. Make yourself a cup of tea by paying attention to all the details of making the tea by making them slower and more conscious than usual.

Conclusion

Hard times are difficult, but losing hope is even more difficult. Whatever happens to you, try to keep your hope up. Another way you can bring hope into your life is by giving hope to others. Be the one who inspires others even in the most desperate moments of life. Yes, it is difficult, but not impossible. Keep your hope up and also give it to others. Happiness can be found even in the darkest moments if we remember to turn on the light.

Find Hope In Desperate Times

The Good Divorce: Things to Keep in Mind When Separating

When you make a decision to get a divorce form in order to change your life for better, you are definitely overwhelmed with mixed feelings. The divorce process scares someone, make others upset or angry, arise eagerness for freedom, but what it has in common for everyone is a challenge. The divorce is a challenge for your stable married life and you need to take it and overcome it thoughtfully to end up in happiness and welcoming changes.

It is difficult to concentrate and settle the right priorities when your day is stuffed with changes and arrangements you are responsible for. So, you need to realize and highlight vital points long before you get to divorce papers online or appoint a meeting with the family law attorney.

Keep Business Relationships

The major destructive element of the divorce process which will only multiply your problems and bring extra headache is your intolerant behavior. You may be blinded with anger, guilt, sadness, apathy, and it will keep you away from taking sensible decisions and building up your promising future. So, the right thing for you to do is to put all the emotions and offences away and treat your divorce like a business project and your soon-to-be-ex like your business partner. Plan ahead, respond to e-mails, attend meetings and appointments, get your DIY divorce forms organized, and control the process. Another thing to pay attention to is that you need to aim for an amicable divorce.

If you try to get benefits for yourself only, you may end up in losing major things as well. But when you are ready for cooperation, look for compromise, and care about conditions and decisions convenient for both sides, it is going to end up in as positive outcomes as possible. Moreover, your maximum tolerant and reserved relationships with your ex will the best option for your children. On the contrary, if you keep criticizing your ex-spouse, complain about your failed marriage, and fight about nonsense in front of your children, it may have a negative impact on your children’s health and cause behavioral disorders. So, you’d better analyze your position and attitude to the divorce process and your future ex, predict the outcomes, and alter it to get better results and a happy future for the whole family. 

Don’t Rush Big Decisions

In some divorce cases you are so fed up with the relationships, that you are eager to cut off all the ties as soon as possible. Yet, rushing into changes is not always a good decision either for you or for your family. This way moving houses straightaway, at the very beginning of the process, may bring routine hurdles to both partners and switch the duties division in the most uncomfortable way.

More to this it may be the additional stress to your children, their parents are divorcing, one of the parents moves out, they have to change the place of living, school and routine habits, and all this happens at the same time. It can bring serious health issues and behavioral disorders to your kids and multiply your problems on the top. Or if you decide to split finances here and now, the breadwinner will manage it, while the other partner won’t have any possibility to adapt to the situation and may have serious problems because of that. Overall, no matter what decision you make, big or small one, mind its impact not on your life only, but on the lives of your family as well. Realize that you will never be happy causing troubles to others, it will all get back to you sooner or later.

Cooperate with Professionals

You may select any kind or way of getting divorced, but unless you are a professional lawyer, you will surely need at least a bit of specialist’s help to end up with positive outcomes. You may start with stories and tips of close friends or relatives, who had a similar divorce experience. But don’t take their advice as the only measures for your actions, since each divorce case is a unique one and needs a unique approach.

More to this, if you are ready to put decent efforts, you are able to do a good job by yourself to save a good chunk of time and fortune. This can be done with the help of reliable divorce platforms, such as OnlineDivorcer, where you are to gain customized divorce package, useful tips, and professional assistance for peanuts. And last but not least, a well-packed team of professionals will guarantee the most beneficial outcomes of your divorce. You can start with a well-qualified divorce lawyer to lead you through the whole process, and accompany him/her with the mediator or divorce counselor to help you organize fruitful cooperation. In sum, care to organize your divorce process qualitatively, since it will greatly affect your future and predetermine your happiness.

Care about Yourself

You may be terribly busy and occupied with multiple activities and processes at the same time, so you won’t have any free moment for yourself for sure. It may easily end up in physical and mental health problems and other difficulties as well. So what you really need, is to pay attention to yourself before, during, and after the divorce no matter what. First of all, you should care about the basics: keep a healthy diet or at least don’t forget to eat normal food from time to time and get enough sleep.

Overall, you will be physically unable to process through all challenges of divorce and will end up in a failure. On top of that, you need to find a way to release all the stress and tension of the divorce and get mental peace and emotional recharge preferably every day. Ten minutes in peace and quiet a day with a cup of favorite drink, a short walk for the fresh air, or ten pages of an inspiring book, will be a rescue ring in the busy divorcee’s life and save you from post-divorce depression for sure. Lastly, don’t forget to see your doctor regularly and after it is all ended as well, so you can monitor your health and discover issues before they get too serious.

Overall, if you care to provide beneficial conditions not only for yourself, but for your family, too, make sensible and not rushed decisions, and put decent efforts, you will get positive outcomes and the happy future after all.

Good Divorce Things to Keep in Mind When Separating

Best 3 Positive Advice For My Younger Self To Motivate Me

At some point in life, many people contemplate penning an autobiography. These memoirs usually describe life lessons – good or bad. In particular, they state how they might have fared better if only they knew better!

If you are one of those thinking individuals, you will dig such personalized narratives.  COX Internet plan, offering COX Internet speeds access a wide array of such narratives!

Coming Full Circle…

As a retired stock-market investor, I got lucky and inherited a sizeable portion of wealth from a deceased relation. I expanded it via Wall Street trading. A friend suggested me to write my own brief life report. I thought long & hard about something worthwhile and meaningful to write. Finally, I knew what I wanted to write about. I remembered when I first started out in the investment business. I was young and felt so lost. I wish someone had advised me then.

The complete chronicle is over 500 pages long. However, I am going to focus on the three different pointers. I believe these form the basis for each phase of anyone’s life – student, young professional, married with a family.

Before you enter professional life, first, go for TEFL course online. Choose certification to appear in the exams today. This will put you on the right track. Online education is cheaper than the traditional education. Furthermore, these are convenient especially when you are working.  These two are the main advantages of online learning. If you want to earn a degree or certificate, opt for online platforms.

Certification exams provide a measurement of knowledge and skills. When employers are looking to hire this is an important determining factor. It’s good to earn certificates in the field you are interested in. A differentiator to counter the competition. When you go for an interview, the competition is frequently stiff. If you have the certification, as compared to the other person, you have a definite edge.

It also shows to the employer that you are always eager to improve. Learning is a value in itself, and those around you will admire you for it.

1. Don’t Make the End Your Everything

When you are young, you are swaying between extremes of abject failure and worldly success. This is a significant concern when you are trying to prove yourself out there.

In the ‘pursuit of happiness’, you work hard to get through college. Then comes the search for a steady job. Over the years, you lose sight of the fast declining present. Your health, age, human relationships development & other life-experiences diminish.

This is certainly, what happened to me! I did end up achieving almost everything -impressive bank balances, million dollar estates, fine cars- and the usual bling. But, I also managed to miss out a lot.

If I could go back to my younger self, I would take off the ambition hat. I would stop and look around at the world too. I would travel, make more friends, and enjoy life. I would take better care of myself.

2. Be Patient with Money

When I started out as a young investor, I was impatient to increase financial gains fast. Only after losing money on several ill-timed mutual fund schemes, I learned to make more money.

My best investments, in hindsight, have been those that have remained fixed inside company’s shareholders’ vaults for at least a period of 10 years. The bad ones, I chose to liquidate into cash after a few short months.

In retrospect, I should have kept that money invested. Maybe then, I would have a Forbes multi-millionaires profile of my own!

3. Human Relations Are Real Life Investment

Having ambitions is not bad. Nevertheless, when you’re ruthlessly involved in making money, you lose sight of what’s important in life. You become completely indifferent to your family and friends.

To my astonishment, I later found that money alone could not guarantee my personal happiness.  Loneliness would still creep up as a stifling influence on my mind and emotions. I was lonelier than before! My solitary preoccupation with money broke up my marriage. It left my only child estranged from me. He could not stand a father devoid of all endearing emotion and expression.

Therefore, here’s my advice to my younger self, and all young people. Stay out of the rat race. Take a break occasionally. Do not neglect your loved ones even for a day. Because we all need human connections to survive & enjoy our fortunes with.

A final piece of advice for my younger self

There is no way around education. Continuing education is an investment of time & resources. It helps provide recognition for your specialized skill set and knowledge. When it comes to landing certain jobs and positions like teach English in China your level of education can be a significant benefit!

Author’s Bio

Alex Brian

Alex Brian is an entrepreneur, marketer, and writer. As Hawaiian resident, he loves beaches and bathing in the sun. That’s where he finds his inspiration to author in-depth guides that teach Ecommerce store owners ways to manage, grow and scale their business. In a former life, Alex co-founded a custom menswear company which generates 6-figures in annual revenue through its website and retail.

Positive Words Research – Positive Advice For My Younger Self

Make Yourself a Cup of Tea: Simple Self-Care Guide to Try

We all know that we have to take care of ourselves, but we don’t know how to fit it into our already busy schedules. It is actually even more important to take care of yourself when you have a hectic lifestyle that leaves you without much energy at the end of the day. As a writer, I am always in front of the computer and after a day of paraphrasing plagarism, I sometimes do not have the time for self-care. What I have realized is that self-care does not have to be extreme. It is the little things we do that can have huge impacts. Here is my simple self-care guide.

Redefine success

The pressure we put on ourselves to be successful can be a lot and if we only step away from what we are told, it might be easier. Success is different for everyone and you need to redefine it for your own life. By eliminating some of the pressure, you can find some time to breathe. This is not to say that you have to give up on your goals and dreams, but rather only focus on the ones that brings you pure joy.

Treats count

If you do not have the time to go to a spa and have a day of relaxation, give yourself a treat just for getting through the day. This can be a cup of your favorite tea or just a block of chocolate. Life should not be lived worrying about things that don’t matter. It does not have to be food. You can also do your nails at home or have a long bubble bath. There are reasons why these treats are spoken about often. It really is just about rejuvenating yourself and give you that moment to appreciate what you have.

Write

You do not have to be an ez rewriter to be writing every day. A journal is always a good idea, or simply writing something inspiring. This is a great release after you have been knocking down giants the whole day. Write about something that happened to you in the day or some place you would like to visit. No matter what it is, there is a therapeutic aspect to it that we cannot deny.

Positive self-talk

By far the most important aspect of self-care is to change all the negative thoughts in your head. It is not always as easy as flipping a switch, but with practice, you can become your own motivator. After rephrasing a sentence online for a thousand times, I might start believing that I don’t have what it take to be a writer. Instead, I would tell myself that I am such a champ for not giving up.

Music

Nothing heals the battered soul like listening to your favorite tunes. Music can be a release for so many people and what you listen to says a lot about you and the space you are in mentally. Put your feet up and press that play button. Being able to relate to some of the words in a song can make you feel like the world understands you.

Conclusion

Do not neglect yourself on your road to success. Happiness has always been more important than making another buck. Enjoy your life and remember that you are your biggest asset, so take care of you.

Author’s Bio

Charles Hampton is a content manager and an amateur guest post writer. His hobby is reading and, extreme sport. He also writes short stories and dreams of publishing his book. Charles`s life credo is “Just do it!”

Here at Positive Words Research, we are looking to share with our readers original content that hasn’t been published on other sites so if you are comfortable with Positive Words Research being your sole publisher, we are more than happy to share with our readers your inspiring and empowering story. 

self-care

Reduce Stress By Positive Thinking. This Guide Will Help You

Have you been feeling empty and tired recently? Okay, these are the first signs of coming depression. Not to develop it to the full extent, you need to get out from the darkness and come back to the light of life. We know what you need to cure the upcoming disease – positive thinking! If you wish to find out how to reduce stress by positive thinking, then keep on reading!

Stop Negative Self-Talk

Everyone talks to oneself, right? The point is how you do that in various situations. For example, you failed the exam in college. The first thing that comes to your mind has to be probably: “I am useless” or “I failed it again.” Guess what? This is a completely wrong way of thinking. You should get rid of such thoughts right away!

Instead, you have to forgive yourself and motivate for the future: “Next time, I will do better,” or “It is okay to make mistakes. I have still passed the test though the score is not the best.” If you are feeling the depression is coming, change the strict attitude to yourself by comforting kind words.

Be Grateful

You should always be grateful to everything that surrounds you. In the period of upcoming depression, you should remind yourself of how grateful you are even more. To embrace a more positive attitude, you have to stop for a moment and see how much you have: the loving family, the opportunity to study in college, two arms and two legs that allow you to function fully, and many other things.

To understand clearer what you should be grateful for, write down all the things you have, both material and nonmaterial, and smile when the list is over. Why smile? Because there are many things you should say “Thank you” for when you wake up each morning!

Positive Thinking Meditation

If you do not feel that anything mentioned above helps, then try positive thinking meditation each day. 20 minutes a day will be enough – concentrate on positive thoughts and observe yourself from outside.

Make slow deep breaths and reflect on something that brings you joy – it might be the sunny day at the sea or walking with your dog or spending time with your funny friends. Reflect on how much joy it brings you and smile inside and out.

If you try and think positive, stress will never appear in your life again! Can you not think positive because you are overloaded with tedious essays? Relax! Have a look at our editing services for students and get back to meditation!

Laugh More

Laughter is an amazing thing that is able to reduce the stress and make our lives longer. If you do not find any reason to laugh in your everyday life, just look at its funniest part!

First of all, you should surround yourself with people who are able to make you laugh. If you do not have any, watch the comedies on TV or enter the groups on Facebook that will post one joke per day minimum. After waking up, visit the group, read the joke, and get the positive vibes for the rest of the day. How to find the correct group? Well, do you love the animals? Then, enter the group 9GAG Cute where funny videos with adorable pets are posted. Seriously, you will not be able to resist and not laugh and melt looking at the cute puppies and kittens.

Justify the Person’s Bad Behavior

Each time you hear something negative directed at you, do not take it personally. The polite and thoroughbred person will never say anything nasty to anyone. If the person still does something bad, you need to understand that s/he might be upset or angry, s/he might be going through the relationship crisis, or someone is sick in his/her family.

The person says it to lash out and not to hurt anyone. Plus, you might misinterpret his/her intentions and understand him/her wrong. You need to think positively and say to yourself: “I simply misunderstood him/her. S/he did not mean what s/he said,” or “This person had a bad day – I should not feel grumpy about what s/he said.”
Think positive and do not allow anyone to ruin your day!

Author’s Bio

Helen is a prolific writer who inspires other people to find their predestination in life. Her life motto is, ‘Do what you care for, love what you carry out.’
She also believes that each individual on the planet has special expertise, and the only complication is to be open in order to see this talent in its full volume.

Here at Positive Words Research, we are looking to share with our readers original content that hasn’t been published on other sites so if you are comfortable with Positive Words Research being your sole publisher, we are more than happy to share with our readers your inspiring and empowering story.

stress