1. Forgiving yourself. Do you have a problem forgiving yourself? You walk around bitter and frustrated, not just at yourself, but everyone around you. Maybe it’s time you took at look at yourself, and dug deep. Forgiveness is VITAL! You must let go of the hurt and pain, caused by someone else, or most importantly YOU.

2. Asking for HELP. DO you struggle with the idea of asking for HELP. YOU are overwhelmed, overburdened, but rarely do you ask for HELP. Do you have someone you can count on, talk to about your issues, seek for solutions? Self Care is about taking care of self, even if it means reaching out for HELP. THERE’S no shame in that!

3. Putting yourself First. This one was hard for me. I am always used to putting others first, and the good book, THE BIBLE even encourages to prefer others before self, however how can you prefer others, when we aren’t even putting ourselves first? It starts with YOU! Putting yourself first is self care!

4. Staying back without explanation. I mean really staying back from a party invitation, staying back when everyone else is moving forward. Staying back is much needed for your mental and emotional health. You have to be able to say NO, why not start there?

5. Setting Boundaries! This ONE Is a big one! Setting Boundaries when everyone else is taking down walls. There’s time and purpose for everything, Ecclesiastes 3 talks about embracing, but also talks about refraining. In order for people to respect you, you must set clear boundaries. “No I don’t do that”, “No I don’t need that!” “will not come by”.  No means no, and I don’t even have to explain. That’s SELF CARE. Creating a boundary for your sake, and not apologizing for creating it.

6. Spending time alone. Who are you when no one is around? Do you even like your own company? Why do you constantly seek for attention, approval, acceptance? Maybe you need to draw back, and spend time with yourself!? Work out alone, run alone, go to the movies alone, take yourself out for lunch alone. You ought to love yourself before you go and love someone else, seek validation from yourself, before seeking validation from someone else. Spending time alone, gives you an opportunity to discover yourself and love on yourself.

7. Saying NO. You must learn to say NO PERIOD, no explanation, just NO and that’s it. You don’t have to say yes to every opportunity, every person, every event, every venue. Self Care is saying NO and sticking by your answer.

8. And last but not least SELF Care. Taking good care of yourself, your mental and emotional health, taking time off, withdrawing, spending time alone, saying no, pampering, eating alone, working on your dreams and goals, pursuing your passions and desires. Taking care of yourself, so you can be available for others.