The Importance of Self-Care
Imagine this: You are having a bad day at work. You weren’t prepared for a meeting with your boss, you forgot your lunch at home, and you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Your calendar is jam-packed for weeks and so the only thing to do is dive deeper into work so you can get it all done. Exercise, dinner with friends, and a good night’s sleep begin to slip out of our grasp.
One of the biggest things we place on the backburner of our lives is self-care. While the term may just sound like doing a face mask or soaking in a bubble bath, taking care of yourself is so much more. Self-care is about making sure you have the tools and the energy to continue on, whether that be reading your favorite book, meditating—you name it. Self-care on its most basic level is replenishing your soul. You can’t keep pouring out of an empty cup.
There are all kinds of benefits to practicing self-care on a regular basis, which include:
- Lowers stress
- Increased emotional awareness and empathy
- Mindfulness
- Raises your self-esteem
It is important to prioritize self-care. That is where self-care bingo comes in. It makes self-care fun and part of a game. You might be wondering what the heck self-care bingo is. It is exactly like it sounds. The prize isn’t a toy or cash, but a better, more mindful you. Some of the self-care tasks on the bingo card may include:
- Took a shower
- Challenged negative thoughts
- Drank water
- Sat with my feelings
- Got 7-9 hours of sleep
- Exercised
With the help of self-care bingo, you are noticing and creating these habits in yourself. For example, we all know how important it is to stay hydrated and drink 8 glasses of water a day but when we get busy, we forget. Following along on one of these bingo cards helps you keep track of all the good things you are doing for yourself.
Now, it isn’t ideal or even possible to do all of these self-care tasks in one day (however, full self-care days are wonderful and you should treat yourself with one whenever you can.) Sprinkle them throughout your week. If you are just absolutely too busy to even think about taking a bubble bath, schedule it out just like you do for the rest of your busy life. Once you get accustomed to practicing self-care, it becomes easier and easier to indulge in it.
Self-care bingo is just one of MANY ways to create a self-care routine for yourself. Just practicing self-care in some capacity will help you tremendously. Hop on over to our Facebook Live to see our community manager Hayley and Ment member Emily discuss their self-care routines, why they find self-care so important in their busy lives, and maybe even play some bingo!
P.S: Here is the bingo card we used from Alyse Ruriani!
