While you try your best to manage your competing priorities successfully, does it tend to be at the expense of your self-care and mental health?
This is something I’ve struggled with often and find is a common theme among the women I work with.
In this article, we’ll discuss what it means to show up for yourself, why you should, and seven ways to prioritize yourself daily.
Let’s get started.
What Does it Mean to Show Up for Yourself?
Showing up for yourself means intentionally protecting your peace, making yourself a priority, and refusing to be an afterthought in your own life.
You’ll eventually find yourself pouring from an empty cup when you constantly neglect your physical, psychological, spiritual, social, or emotional needs. As a result, you may experience burnout and become resentful, unfulfilled, and full of untapped potential and unrealized dreams.
7 Ways to Show Up for Yourself Daily
Research has found several consequences related to a lack of self-care. You should do your best to avoid them by implementing a routine and being intentional about caring for your individual needs, as it can help you better navigate challenges, be more productive, and have more peace.
Here are a few ideas to help get you started. Let’s stay committed!
Carve Out “Me Time” Every Day
It might seem nearly impossible most days, but you should do your best to practice self-love by finding time to do something strictly for yourself.
Have you always wanted to try yoga, attend a sip and paint class, or take the first 15 minutes of your day to pray, meditate, or sit in silence and reflect on your goals?
Do you enjoy reading and taking walks or miss hanging out with friends and family?
Whatever it is, you owe it to yourself to take a break from daily responsibilities and carve out some time to make self-care (and a little fun!) a priority.
Allow Time for Self-Reflection
Taking time out for self-reflection allows you to seriously consider different aspects of your life, such as behaviors, thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and desires that are unique to you.
Though not always easy to do, allowing time for self-reflection is a great way to show up for yourself, as it provides an opportunity to take a step back and gain a better perspective on the things in life that you have to be grateful for, recognize areas for improvement and goal setting.
Create Boundaries and Stick to Them
Setting boundaries and enforcing them is an often underrated form of self-love. Creating clear guidelines and limits around how you expect to be treated, whether in your personal or professional life, honors your need and desire to feel safe and respected while also letting others know what is and is not acceptable in their interactions with you.
It’s essential to be consistent with enforcement to avoid confusion and keep your lines clearly defined.
Stop Caring About the Opinion of Others
We put enough pressure on ourselves without adding the opinions of others to the weight we carry. Though it may seem easier said than done, I challenge you to make a conscious effort not to let what other people will think (or what you believe they’ll think) dictate your life choices.
Not everyone is meant to understand your vision. So, release the need to be validated by anyone. It’s one of the most powerful ways that you can choose to show up for yourself.
Give Up the Need for Perfection
We tend to weigh ourselves down with overbooked calendars and to-do lists that are way too long and then feel we somehow failed by not accomplishing it all, never acknowledging that the list may have been impossible for anyone to manage in the first place.
Release the pressure and negative thoughts that come with trying to pursue perfection. If you show up every day and give the best that you have to offer, then that is enough – I promise.
Allow Yourself to Feel Your Emotions
Lean into and embrace your emotions. No matter what they are on any given day, allow yourself time and space to process and experience them fully.
If you’re overcome with joy, confused about which direction you should go, or having a day where you’re feeling down, it’s all a part of your journey and should be acknowledged.
You’re a human with emotions, and too often, we try to push through them too quickly without giving them the care and attention they deserve before packing them away.
Though I don’t encourage you to dwell on negative emotions and let them keep you from moving forward, I do believe that showing up for yourself includes being able to show yourself the same compassion and understanding that you would for someone else.
Set Goals & Work Toward Achieving Them
Always be in pursuit of growth and learning. If there is something you want to do, make a plan and go for it!
Whether you want to go back to school, learn to dance, join a bowling league, become a CEO, or start a business, show up for yourself by removing the limitations of what you believe you’re capable of.
Sure, that voice in your head will tell you that you can’t or are crazy even to consider it, but I encourage you to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Who knows what fantastic things lie on the other side of your decision to try something new?
Yes, you could end up hating it or miss the mark and have to start over again. But in the grand scheme, that’s all a part of the journey. To be able to take risks, create experiences, try, fail, and learn from those experiences is a blessing many of us take for granted.
Each time you try something new, you learn, grow, and evolve as an individual. All the overthinking and self-doubt in the world shouldn’t keep you from such transformational, life-altering opportunities.
Final Thoughts
While it’s easy to let the day-to-day of life take precedence over your needs, it’s vital to your overall mental health and well-being that you make a concerted effort to show up for yourself daily in ways that are impactful for you.
Though the ideas above should help spark your imagination, it is not exhaustive and doesn’t consider your unique self-care needs.
Use them to reflect on and devise ways to show up for yourself daily in your world – even if it’s as simple as waking up earlier than everyone else to enjoy a cup of coffee in peace.
Whatever it is for you, know that you deserve it!
