Despite how crowded the world feels, how no matter where you go there is always someone else there with you, your top priority is you. There are always people who will tell you that you shouldn’t focus so much on yourself and you should focus more on helping others, but what they forget is that if you don’t take care of yourself first, you aren’t much good to anyone.
That’s why, even if you don’t do it often, you should still take some time every once and a while to focus on you. Other people will determine your trustworthiness in a tenth of a second and if you haven’t had time to work on yourself, it might not be the outcome you were expecting. That means assessing yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. It means it’s time to treat yourself. Here are a few ways to go about it.
Clear your head
Your brain is like a battery — it can only go for so long without recharging. Almost anyone you ask will tell you that getting a good night’s rest is one of the best things you can do for your mental health and it’s true. However, you also want to ensure that your mind is clear after you wake. Meditation is a great way to improve your mental health, for instance, because it allows you to decompress in a conscious state. That means you’re recharging while being aware that you’re doing it instead of laying down one night and hoping you’re going to wake up refreshed. During your meditation, focus on your reinvented self. What does this person look like? What are they doing? Visualization is a key element to meditation and your mental health.
Get pampered
When you hear the word “pampered,” you probably think of a spa, right? That’s not the only form of pampering (although it is a good one, so don’t count it out). However, this is all about creating a better you by treating yourself to the things you don’t normally do. How is your oral health? Could your teeth use some attention? Roughly 39.09 million Americans benefited from tooth whiteners in 2017 and now it’s your turn. Visit your local cosmetic dentist or hit the supermarket for some whitening strips. Or maybe your hair could use some love. When was the last time you went to the hair salon or barber shop? Are you working with split ends or an unruly mop of hair? Make an appointment to get the full treatment at the hair salon and come out with a new ‘do. Perhaps your hair isn’t what it used to be though, and you’re experiencing hair loss or thinning hair. Forget the salon, go get yourself a treatment that will restore your once luscious locks. A follicular unit extraction procedure, or FUE, typically only takes about eight hours and you can feel good about your hair again. Anything that you haven’t been able to address — now is your time.
Be happy
Your emotional health can be harder to tackle, particularly if you’re not sure what to do to help. Meditation, as stated before, can be a great way to connect with yourself and find a calming center. However, sometimes thinking about what makes you happy isn’t enough and you need to go out there and achieve it. It could be that you’re unhappy with your appearance and treating yourself to some physical pampering makes you feel better about the way you look, which in turn makes you happy. Maybe you set yourself some personal or career goals that you weren’t able to hit. Is there anything you can do to get closer to those goals? You might just want a day to do activities you find enjoyable to brighten your mood. Whether that’s going for a walk, playing paintball, getting your nails done, or whatever else, it’s important that you find time for the things that make you happy.
A good tip for creating a better you is to document your day. You can do a before and after picture, if you decided to focus more on your physical needs, or you can record what you did during your excursion to look back on later. It could be as easy as pinning a body camera (about one-third of the 18,000 police departments were using the tech as of 2015) to your coat and going about your day. It’s important to remember the good times that you had during your treat yourself adventure so that when you start getting down again, you can look forward to the next one.
