5 Ways You Can Make Yourself a Priority | GUEST POST

This post on 5 Ways You Can Make Yourself a Priority is a wonderful guest post by BournemouthGirl.

In today’s society, everyone is expected to be productive and doing something all the time because we should always be striving for success, right? Yes, challenging ourselves and making goals are important, but it is no use if you are burned out. It is important that you make yourself a priority, to keep yourself healthy physically and mentally.

Do you ever feel guilty when you try and relax, or take a day off? Do you make yourself a priority? I have 5 small ways that you can start putting yourself first and make you a priority.

1. Schedule Time For Yourself

Life can get very hectic with general day-to-day tasks and get even busier if you have a family, other commitments or even another job. So, finding time just to focus on you can be hard work. When you are planning your week out for to-do lists and social activities, you should then pencil in some time for yourself.

Making time for you doesn’t need to be this huge event; it can be a small act each day or a dedicated amount of time each week. You can fit it in around your schedule. For example, every evening you could decide to have an hour of self-care, a bath, a face mask or reading your favourite book. Or, you could allocate a weekend morning for even something as small as a lie in.

It is important that you show yourself the same time you would give to others. By giving yourself time to relax, it will help you recharge and boost your motivation and productivity. When you get into the habit of giving yourself time to do something that makes you happy, you are more likely to feel less stressed and can refresh your mind.

2. Be Kind To Yourself

Self-compassion is linked to cultivating a growth mindset. If you start to treat yourself with kindness and understanding, you are far more likely to forgive yourself as part of learning and growing to become your best self.

Being kind to yourself is about doing things that promote positive wellbeing. Showing kindness towards yourself can help you move forward from difficult feelings or situations.

Speaking kindly to yourself is vital in building your self-esteem and confidence. We are all told numerous times on social media or in the media about how we should look. So, it is even more important that we are kind to ourselves. Unfortunately, I am guilty of being too hard on myself. I am always thinking that I could have done better, but I am trying to be kinder to myself.

Practising positive affirmations can be a great way to focus on what you are good at and you are learning to promote your good characteristics. This can help to improve your mental health and your self-worth.

3. Listen To Your Body

Your body will tell you when you are in need of rest or sleep. If you start pushing through when your body is telling you that it needs to rest, you run the risk of burn out or making yourself ill. Taking the time to give your body what it needs is self-care.

Stress can have a he negative impact on both your physical and mental health. So, listening to your body is something that should be a priority. Paying attention to the physical and mental demands that your body gives you will serve you well. Learning to be in tune with your mind and body will enable you to make better decisions and will help to build your resilience.

Since being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I have really had to put myself first, by listening to what my body is telling me. It can be difficult especially if you have lots going on and lots that needs to be done; it can be easy to soldier on ad try to work through the tiredness and/or pain, but this will not help your physical or mental health.

Related Read: Fibromyalgia Awareness Day – 5 Tips For When You Receive a Diagnosis

4. Acknowledging Your Feelings

It is common to force yourself to get over something; you just move past it and continue. However, you should lean into your emotions and allow yourself to feel vulnerable when you need to. You need to learn to sit with your emotions, experience them and overcome those thoughts and feelings.

Acknowledge and accept the feelings; understanding yourself is important. If I am struggling with how I feel, I write my feelings down and work through them in my journal. Bottling up how you feel is damaging and can stop you from overcoming those emotions and moving forwards.

Emotional awareness can help you know what you need and want. It can help you build stronger relationships as you know your own emotions; you can avoid or better resolve conflicts. Practising this habit will help you improve your wellbeing and is making you a priority.

5. Learn To Say No

Sometimes, it can be easy to say yes to everything and everyone; you try to help or please everyone, but where does it end? Taking on too much especially of you don’t want to can lead to a lot of stress, burn out and unhappiness. Life can get so busy and you can’t neglect your own needs to fulfil other peoples’. It is okay to say no sometimes.

When you say no, it allows you to choose where you decide to put your time and your energy. It can also enable you to focus that time on yourself and the other people who deserve it. If you show other people that you value your priorities, your time and effort contrary to what they think, you will also gain respect.

It is important to note that saying no to something allows you to say yes to other things that you really care about. These are 5 small ways that you can make yourself a priority. Other suggestions are:

• Start a gratitude journal
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help
• Surround yourself with the right people
• Tell yourself that you can
• Let go of the things that you can’t control
• Journal regularly

Start practising small acts where you put yourself first because you cannot look after others if you are not looking after yourself.

What is one way that you make yourself a priority? I’d love to hear in the comments!