Wednesday, July 24th is International Self Care Day and the beginning of Leo season! Happy Birthday to all the Leo’s out there!
Have you ever heard the saying, You can’t pour from an empty cup? That’s exactly why this day is so important to highlight and celebrate!
International Self-Care Day is an annual celebration giving us the opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of self-care around the globe, promote self-care in your organizations or communities, and of course, take good care of yourself!
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” We can still include bubble baths and mani-pedi days as a way to practice self-care but it's so much more than that!
As a health and wellness coach I have seen the positive impact that comes with having the tools to take care of yourself and live a life that feels good and uplifting. You can better show up for your community, your relationships, and the causes you care about when you prioritize self-care.
On this day be intentional. Intentionality plus self-care equals anything we deliberately do (or refrain from doing) with our own well-being in mind. So how could one be deliberately celebratory on this day?
• Create something. It doesn’t have to be artistic, but it could something that brings calmness, serenity, peace and ease. Some examples include a new healthy behavior/habit, poetry, music, food, humans *wink wink ;-)
• Declutter your space. Tired of looking at those boxes in the corner from your move-in cough cough last year? What a great time to out with the old. Once it’s done, it brings so much mental clarity. If life has been a fog lately, try this.
• Education. Learning something new is helpful in getting unstuck! Sign up for those swim lessons, go to that pottery workshop, take that cake decorating class, get scuba certified!
• Practice Boundaries. Is your default answer yes when you really want to say no? Great day to choose you! If it’s not a hell yes, it's a hard pass!
• Random Acts of kindness. They help us feel better and obviously also make someone else’s life easier. A donation to a local charity is great idea or paying for a stranger's meal is a nice way to show someone compassion.
• Schedule a therapy/counseling session or hire a life or wellness coach. It’s okay to ask for help. Life is hard. Full stop.
• Spend time outdoors or in nature. Modern society allocates so much time to inside sitting and on devices. That creates imbalances that don’t support our overall wellness.
• Take a social media hiatus. Unplug. This can do wonders for mental health. We don’t realize how much of what we consume impacts our perspective on life and draws us back from individual purpose.
• REST. Reserve the right to DO NOTHING. It's hard, but it's good for the soul! RELAX :-)
The date of International Self-Care Day can be written as 7/24 and is a subtle reference to the idea that self-care should be performed seven days per week, 24 hours per day. In a perfect world, that’s the idea, right? You have to start somewhere and that’s why I am inviting all of you to participate in the self-care day celebration this July 24th! Happy International Self Care Day 2024!!
Couldn't have been explained any better