If You Don't, Who Will (Take Care of You)?

Are you taking care of yourself?

"What kind of stupid, corny question is that?" you may ask.

If you had the life of your dreams, what kind of care would you be receiving from loved ones and hired help?

If you had experienced an ideal childhood, what kind of care would you have received from your parent or parents?

Since none of us had a picture-perfect childhoods, and we are just beginning to strive for the lives of our dreams, we may have some poor self-care habits. Failure to take care of yourself in the midst of studying and all your other responsibilities is a recipe for stress and self-sabotage.

Here you are as a college student, marching, tiptoeing, bulldozing or sleeping your way through required courses. You're dragging with you all the habits of self-care that you learned or developed from your less-than-magnificent early years. Do those habits look like strategies that will support your stressful life as a student? Will those self-care patterns sustain you when you get a real career and have to be sharp and focused to make responsible decisions every day?

You can make some new choices about good self-care right now, today.

Do you get enough sleep? Do you eat wisely? Exercise? Do you manage to make study and classes fun? Do you stay in touch with family and friends? Do you take quiet time for yourself?

What does good self-care mean for you? Remembering to take your medications or your vitamin supplements? Brushing and flossing? Hanging up your clothes so they don't inconvenience you when you want something to wear? Keeping your class notes in an organized form? Maintaining a daily, weekly and monthly calendar of tasks and assignments?

Jot down your personal list and recommit to taking good care of yourself! You'll be a better student because of it.

Whether you still live with your family or have been the head of your household for years, most of us could stand some improvements in self-care. Please post comments to share with your best methods for taking care of yourself, that help you to succeed as a student.

Super Tip: By the way, did you mentally list a few strategies for how you'd like to be cared for if your life was designed just the way you'd wish it to be? Pick one of the most important to you, one that would be really satisfying. Now figure out a way that you can begin to give that to yourself.

Do you imagine a mansion with a spa-like bathroom and mountains of bubble bath?
Run a tub full of hot water and throw in bath salts. Do it this week. Do it often. Give to yourself now those things that you really want.

Do you imagine being deeply loved by your future mate? Ask yourself how that partner might let you know of his or her love. Figure out how you can give that same kind of love to yourself. If your ideal mate would show love by buying flowers for you, go buy yourself some posies. A single rose or a bouquet from the grocery store can be a way that you love and nurture yourself. Whatever you imagine your ideal mate would do to care for you, see if you can create a way to give that to yourself. (I often instruct clients to tell themselves, "I love you." It is very healing and restorative.)

Good self-care lets your inner self know that you respect and honor yourself. Good self-care helps to engage the cooperation of your unconscious success mechanism. Setting up a pattern of good self-care says, "I deserve the best. I deserve to take good care of myself now."

Good self-care doesn't mean expensive. It means loving dedication to meeting your own needs in balanced and positive ways. (I'll do a post later about saving and spending creatively.)

Have a great week.