Self-care is one great way to show love to yourself. To be able to give love to others, one has to give love to oneself. We came up with a 30-Day Self-care challenge below for you to join in on! Let us know on our social media platforms if you will be joining in!
There are many ways one can care for themselves which include exercise, meditation, eating healthy, resting, and career growth, to mention just a few.
“To fall in love with yourself first is the first secret to happiness” – Robert Morley
Day 1: Start your day with a glass of hot water
Drinking warm water in the morning helps flush out the toxins. However, drinking warm water increases body temperature, which improves the metabolic rate. Not only does it help in weight loss, but it also takes great when adding lemon juice, or even green tea. Credit: Times of India
Day 2: Meditate for 10 minutes
Find 10 minutes during the day, (the best time would be in the morning before you start your day), anywhere away from any distractions. It could be at your home or in nature. Meditation helps to reduce and control stress and anxiety, better focus, and concentration, improve self-esteem and self-awareness, and much more. Read more via Insider here
Day 3: Get an extra hour of sleep
Not only is sleep good for your health, but it also helps you feel less cranky the next day, including great benefits like losing weight and boosting your immune system. Most adults are required to sleep between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Plan to get an extra hour of sleep by either going to bed an hour earlier or waking up an hour later.
Day 4: Treat yourself to a Bubble Bath
Relaxation goes hand in hand with self-care. Taking a warm bath can not only boost your mood but can also help you sleep better at night. You can even top it off by playing slow music, lighting some candles and/or reading your favourite book or magazine.
Day 5: Take a moment to Count your Blessings
Take some time to reflect and list down all things that you are grateful for.
Taking time to appreciate the good things in our lives.
One can count their blessing by:
- Making time for other people
- Doing everything with complete attention
- Cultivating one’s dreams
Day 6: Go for a long walk
Taking a walk is a form of exercise that is recommended for everyone.
Benefits are:
- Maintaining better health
- Losing weight
- Helps in managing various conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure to mention but a few.
Day 7: Take a day without sugar
Yes, that means tea/coffee without sugar and any other foods that may contain a high amount of sugar.
Sugar is more harmful than good to our health, therefore reducing or cutting it off from our diet would be a great step toward a healthy body.
Day 8: Commit a day to eating healthily
Healthy food is good for the body and therefore it is important to set aside a day to eat healthy food. This food can include whole foods. Eating healthy also comes with benefits such as:
- Reducing the risk of obesity
- Stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
- It boosts energy and mood
Day 9: Try something new
Try out something you’ve never done before. Perhaps starting a new hobby, changing your hairstyle or even doing something outside of your comfort zone.
Day 10: Prepare your own personal SWOT Analysis
Make a list of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to help you improve and reflect on how you can better yourself.
Day 11: Dedicate the day to saying “Thank you”
Saying sincerely thank you allows you to be more positive, and more resilient. It allows you to recognise someone’s value, is a sign of respecting the one who has helped you and is a
sign of being humble and well-mannered.
Day 12: Write a love letter to yourself
Often at time people express their love to others and forget that loving yourself is as important as loving others.
Writing a love letter to yourself can help in learning to appreciate ourselves and our efforts.
It is also a great way of decreasing anxiety.
Day 13: Declutter your space
This is the process of assessing your surrounding – be it who you surround yourself with, or material things and removing those that are not necessary.
Important things should only be left behind, things that add value to yourself.
Day 14: Spend time in nature
Being outside has so much great benefits such as helping you heal, helping you to concentrating better and having a different perspective! You can even take along a book or just enjoy the sounds and joys that nature brings.
Day 15: Call or video chat a long-lost friend/family member
Calling and catching up with long-lost friends and relatives makes them know that you are thinking of them which makes them and yourself feel better and happy.
Day 16: Watch a TED Talk/Motivational videos
Ted Talk is a show that invites many inspirational speakers to tackle different life topics. It teaches one how to critically think over difficult issues. Watching different motivational videos can give you that extra push and can provide ideas on all aspects, be it financial, scientific, social, or religious. Invite positive vibes into your thinking, which will allow for your growth!
Day 17: Drink 4-8 glasses of water
Water is an important element in our body for it to be fully functional. The main reason water is so encouraged is because it keeps the body hydrated. Some of the benefits of drinking loads of water are:
- It flushes out toxins and waste in the body
- Keeps the brain functional
- Guards against skin wrinkles and disorders
- Easy digestion and proper circulation
- Soothe joins
- Kidney function
Day 18: Pamper yourself
One can do a lot to spoil themselves, what better way to show love to self.
DIY face mask, cut and paint nails, listen to your favourite music, and enjoy a massage. Do what makes you happy.
Day 19: Make a Vision Board
A vision board is made up of images and words describing your goals and dreams – things that you would like to achieve. Vision boards help you to visualize your goals and dreams and inspire you to achieve them!
All you need is a magazine, scissors, glue, crayons and some paper and get creative!
Day 20: Donate Something
Giving makes the giver happier than the receiver. There are a lot of things one can donate, it doesn’t have to be new or expensive. Even the clothes in our closets or sharing our lunches can make someone’s day!
Day 21: Write Down Affirmations and paste them into your mirror
Affirmations are simply the practice of positive thinking. These are statements that are meant to build a positive mentality and to show that anything can be achieved. It’s always important to remember that words have power, so why not speak positively over your and others’ lives?
Affirmations are statements such as:
- My possibilities are endless
- I am brave, bold and beautiful
- My thoughts become my reality
- I am grateful for all that I have today
“Be careful with your words and thoughts as they have power. I will create as I speak” – Ayanda Dlamini (MOT Brand Ambassadors, Radio and TV Presenter)
Day 22: Try a new recipe
Trying a new recipe is another way of learning. When one tries a new recipe, they are exposed to the new taste and new profiles. At times we eat the same food over and over again and we get to a point where we are bored. This boredom will lead us to eat unhealthy foods so buying a cookbook or searching for healthy recipes on YouTube will help us to maintain a healthy diet with these new recipes.
Day 23: Go to bed Early
Going to bed early is good because we have a longer sleep, wake up early, and have more time to do our morning routines. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep a day.
Day 24: Tackle a bad habit
Bad habits can affect our daily lives in different ways, this may include our diet, our attitude and so forth. Bad habits can range from sleeping late, eating after hours, and many more.
There are ways of tackling bad habits, such as:
- Being aware of the habit at first and researching what can be done to overcome it.
- Knowing what triggers this habit and trying to avoid that
- Replace the bad habit with a good one
- Never give up on the newly introduced good habit and one should always prepare for slip-ups
- Making reminders to self.
Day 25: Unplug from your phone
Phones have become an accessory everyone owns. Some people have become so addicted to their phones that they cannot do without them. Phones have also brought problems of social isolation whereby one prefers to be on their phones than have family time.
Addiction to phones can cause neglection of duties and also some may have a problem in completing work, either at home or at school.
One can unplug from their phone by:
- Setting aside a day from a week one completely isolates themselves from social media
- One should avoid charging the phone near the bed
- Find a book to read, this will help you reduce phone usage
- Turning off notifications can also be helpful.
Day 26: Revisit a childhood hobby
Hobbies are pastimes that fill us with warmth.
Adults have so many responsibilities that include work, taking care and providing for the family. As such they have less time to enjoy things that interests them. Psychologists argue that making time to revisit our pastime hobbies can help to rediscover the creativity and enjoyment we had as children.
Day 27: Smile at yourself
A smile is a mood boost and helps our bodies to release endorphins that have many benefits such as reduced pain, stress, and blood pressure and it also strengthens the immune system.
Smiling brings positive emotions hence it is advised to smile.
A smile is a universal sign of happiness, and it is intercultural.
Smile 😀
Day 28: Finish reading that book
Some of us have those books which we forgot to finish, due to many reasons. Why not get try and finish it?
Reading is one good habit that helps stimulate the brain. A lot of people like me tend to have a habit of starting to read a book but not finishing it. They could be because of time, laziness, or something else. Reading has great benefits, such as:
- Prevents cognitive decline
- Alleviates depression
- Builds vocabulary and also strengthens the brain
- Strengthens writing abilities.
- Some of us have those books which we forgot to finish, due to many reasons.
Day 29: Give yourself a compliment
Complimenting oneself is a sign of appreciating your efforts. It helps us create an optimistic happier outlook and remind you of how you are!
Examples of compliments can be:
- You have a really beautiful smile
- I’m proud of myself for having the courage to try
- You deserve the success coming my way
- I trust my training and the work I’ve put in
- You will reach your goals
Day 30: Exercise
Exercise is an essential activity for self-care. Exercise comes in different forms. It does not only mean going to the gym and lifting heavy weights, but it also doesn’t mean only jogging. Exercise can be in form of taking a walk, as simple as it sounds the body needs a little movement and a walk would do.
Different types of exercises:
Exercise takes many forms. Some of them are swimming, squats, aerobics, hiking, running, cycling, yoga, rowing, circuit training and many others.
One can choose from the endless list of types of exercise and engage in it.
Benefits of Exercises:
- It boosts energy
- It promotes better sleep
- Exercise improves mood
- It can also combat diseases, including other health conditions
- It is fun and a great way to meet new people
By Charity Mupangani
Check out our last article about our successful Courage to Care Day Campaign here
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