The Benefits of Taking Time for Self-Care and Reflection

We all know the struggle of waking up and finding ourselves running late. The alarm clock goes off, and the mental checklist begins. Work, family, and the incessant buzz of notifications can drown out our own identity. And we wear our busyness as a badge of honour, thinking that the more we do, the more successful we are. But the truth about wellness is the exact opposite. It’s a function of stopping, taking a breath, and turning within.

Self-care, reflection, or taking a spa weekend or a Bali retreat can be treated as a luxury or an indulgence. Taking care of yourself or reflection is a crucial part of a healthy life. Taking care of yourself is taking care of your physical, mental, or emotional health, while reflection is a process of examining your thoughts to gain clarity. It is an antidote to burnout.

Benefits of Slowing Down for Mental Health

Because you are always on the move, your body is in a position where it is constantly alert. This causes stress in the body, which then produces a hormone called cortisol. This hormone can cause a person to suffer from anxiety, depression, and exhaustion if overproduced. Practicing self-care is the braking system that stops the process of stress in the body.

Engaging in restorative activities allows your mind to unwind. It is not always necessary to take on activities that don’t contribute much to your life, rather activities that rejuvenate you. It is essential to take time off from activities that push you around, thereby creating room in your mind to process your emotions, hence being able to deal with any challenges that come your way.

How Reflection Enhances Self-Awareness

Whereas self-care refills your battery, reflection helps ensure that you’re going in the right direction. It is hard to grasp why and how you feel when everything has got you distracted all the time. Reflection fills the space that exists between experiences and knowledge.

Reflecting on your thoughts and actions enables you to spot patterns. Perhaps you will notice that you feel drained after spending time in a particular setting, or maybe you notice that you feel inspired after interacting with others. Being extremely aware of your thoughts and actions is important for establishing boundaries. Knowing your internal world helps you choose actions based on your personal code of values, whereas, without this, you will simply act upon the will of others. Taking control of your own experiences makes you a designer of your own well-being instead of a passive actor.

Integrating Self-Care into Your Lifestyle

A week-long retreat is not necessary to experience such benefits, although heavenly. The most beneficial self-care practices are ones that can be done on a daily basis. Begin with claiming the first few minutes of your morning routine. Resist the first instinct to reach for your phone and instead use these five minutes to stretch or have a cup of tea in complete quietness.

Nature is another resource that is always at your disposal. Whether it is an excursion along the shoreline or an even shorter visit to your local green space, immersing oneself in nature is the quickest way to get grounded. Use this time to unplug from the technology that is always in your pocket. Leave the headphones home, and instead listen to the world around you.

Lastly, end the day by taking a moment to journal. Record three good things that occurred or one thing that was learned by writing them down, allowing the habit of reflecting to be practiced. This also gives the opportunity to work through the day’s happenings before moving forward with the night by resting the mind for the upcoming day.

Prioritise Your Well-Being

Taking a decision to take care of oneself and reflect on oneself is always extremely difficult, especially when the entire world wants you to listen to it. However, it would be the best investment that you will ever make in your life. By allocating some time for relaxation and introspection, you are actually avoiding your responsibilities, rather you are gaining some strength to perform them in an effective manner.