The first week of 2021 has already dawned upon us and is starting to take shape. By now, you have already bid farewell to the dumpster fire that is 2020 and are so ready to move on. It’s a brand-new year of opportunities and you are ready to take on the world.
While it is only natural that you feel anxious about 2021, it’s a good time to begin again. You owe it to yourself to make this year all about healing, a year of self-reflection, and all about you. Here are some tips on how to pick yourself up from the pieces of 2020:
1. Keep Things in Perspective
This year, focus on keeping things in perspective. A study from Harvard Business School says that a moment of self-reflection can greatly improve one’s performance and learning ability. It is especially beneficial if you want to develop and reach your full potential.
Allowing yourself to reflect on things like the events of the past year and what happens next will allow your worries and concerns to be processed in a more constructive way. It will be a great way to put your actions and other’s actions into perspective in order to make sense of things.
2. Tell Yourself that Self-Care Isn’t Selfish
This 2021, stop apologizing when others think that taking care of yourself is a selfish act. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, self-care has become even more essential for one’s mental health.
In fact, Christine Carter, Ph.D., a sociologist at the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California in Berkeley advocated for the importance of self-care. It’s a solid foundation to have if you’re looking for meaning in your life.
And taking care of yourself isn’t just about getting that new haircut either. Sometimes just taking care of mundane yet seemingly luxurious household chores is enough to elevate your mood. For example, if you’ve been putting off restoring a beloved luxury rug, now’s the time to get the services of a rug restoration company. This way you can also help boost local economy in your area.
3. Celebrate your successes
Your successes, whether big or small deserve to be celebrated. Allow yourself to reflect on the positive things, that you are doing things right. It will make life’s failures seem less overwhelming.
4. Find something that inspires you
We are human beings, and sometimes we need a little inspiration to keep the fire in us going. Think of the moments in your life when you felt most inspired, of when times were simpler and less complicated.
Finding inspiration is a way of empowering yourself towards the direction of the future. Inspiring thoughts help you move forward in life.
5. Sleep on It
In 2020, it was discovered that many people lost sleep as a result of the uncertainties of the global pandemic. Getting an adequate amount of sleep is essential for your physical and mental well-being. It keeps your immune system up and running in order to fight off infections.
Lack of sleep can elevate stress levels, and even in small amounts sleep deprivation can drive up your body’s stress response making you more susceptible to stress. Adults are advised to log in at least seven to nine hours every night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. They also recommend taking a 30-minute nap in the early afternoon, generally before 2 P.M if you find yourself lacking sleep from the night before and that you will find the results to be “effective and immediate.”
6. Allow Yourself to Express your Feelings
Self-care is not limited to just the physical and the mental state, your emotional well-being matters as well. It is important that you have healthy coping skills when it comes to processing uncomfortable emotions such as anxiety or anger.
Acknowledging your emotions is a good place to start. It’s also important to be able to talk these feelings out to someone you could trust and engage in leisurely activities that will allow you to process these emotions healthily.
Talking to a good friend about these pent-up emotions is a healthy way to process your fears of going out. It’s taking the baby steps that matter.
7. Ask yourself the important questions
Self-reflection also involves asking yourself the tougher questions, those you fear answering because it involves facing the truth. Ask yourself what are your goals for this year and how you plan to achieve them.
Ask yourself if there are any hindrances to these goals and what you can do to prevent these. It’s a way of challenging yourself and reminding yourself of where you are and where you want to be.
Developing your self-care plan is not a “one size fits all” kind of thing. In a way, it is a form of introspection that shall be made according to your needs. The sooner you make self-care your priority, the sooner you can guarantee yourself to have a happier and brighter New Year.