Self Care Toolbox
A Guest Blog Post by Nicholle Chandler
Owner of Bee Golden Health Coaching
I’ve always been motivated by stars. Like in the 3rd grade, when you get that bright shiny gold star on your assignment. Or, as an adult, you receive an “employee of the month” award with a gold star on the framed paper.
It’s oddly motivating for me. So much that for the last year, I’ve been using a daily habit tracker calendar. It’s a calendar where I can track my self-care or wellness habits and then award myself a bright shiny star when I do them.
I was sold.
This checklist is my self-care toolbox. The eight habits listed aren’t selfish or optional but rather essential and mandatory. As a self-care coach, I am finding the more my clients (and myself) practice daily self-care, we are more successful at keeping stress at bay.
Our adaptation energy, the body’s ability to handle a change of expectation or demand, fills back up when we practice self-care. When you run out of adaptation energy mid-day and keep getting more demands (aka, stress), your body will go involuntarily into fight-or-flight stress reactions.
And that’s generally not pretty. For instance, my fight-or-flight stress reaction usually consists of lots of yelling, irritability, and then ugly crying because I feel like a big jerk for acting like a crazy lady. *sigh.
That is why self-care is essential, especially in our times. If you have practical tools, or as I like to call it, “A Self-Care toolbox,” to manage stress levels and anxiety, even the most significant demands can become an opportunity for growth or new possibilities.
There are many ways to self-care; physical, mental, spiritual, social, and environmental self-care are just a few. Today I am going to focus on only two definitions.
Long Term Self-Care
Instant Self-Care
Long Term self-care is beneficial for you in the long-term. You can afford to do it once a day, and it helps increase your adaptation energy to take on daily demands, such as a morning workout or meditation. It might not feel pleasant at the moment, but the long-term effects are worth it. Rest, as you can see below, is both long term and instant self-care. Quality sleep is long term, but a nap is necessary sometimes.
Instant self-care is short-term, and generally, it is not realistic to do every day. You feel terrific in and just after the moment, but it’s a fleeting moment. Other examples are those treats we give ourselves—a glass of wine, a manicure, or a shopping spree. These are things you wouldn’t necessarily do every day because of cost, time, and, well, if you are anything like me, a wine hangover after just one glass.
Through tracking, I not only fulfilled the third grader in me, but I discovered how essential it was for me to have a self-care toolbox and to pulling from it daily.
The weeks that barely had any stars were the weeks I felt anxious, stressed, and mentally exhausted. The weeks that had more stars were the weeks I felt more energy, recharged, creative, and accomplishing more.
When you track your self-care and emotions, you create awareness between the two, allowing you to notice if your daily self-care makes a difference. Knowing this helps build your why, your motivation, which is a friendly reminder to continue your self-care practice.
Just like I hate walking out of the house without brushing my teeth, not doing my meditation leaves me feeling yuck. I wasn’t fully aware of it until I tracked my habits with stars and how I felt while doing them versus not doing them.
Do I follow through with all eight habits in my day? Nope. Self-care doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It works similar to an election. The more votes you have toward self-care than stress, the less likely stress will make you feel lousy—majority rules.
What is in your self-care toolbox?
What makes you feel alive?
How do you track your self-care and stress?
Do the things that make you feel good. Schedule them like you would a meeting with your boss. Because self-care isn’t selfish, it’s essential.
For a free self-care tracker bundle, go to www.beegoldencoaching.com.
Nicholle Chandler is a small-town girl from Alaska. Through 20 years of owning fast-paced businesses, she learned the things on my to-do list would be there tomorrow, but my health wouldn't be if she didn't take care of it. With Bee Golden Health Coaching, she works with stressed-out women who want to prioritize self-care routines and break free from old patterns. Her passions are stress-reduction, mental health, self-care, allergy-free eating, and how sugar/processed foods contribute to mood disorders. Are your old beliefs holding you back? Need extra support? Nicholle does 1:1 coaching and group work. You can find me here.
Book a consult: https://bit.ly/consultnnc
About me: https://beegoldencoaching.com/mystory
IG: @iamnichollechandler
