Six Ways to Support Self-Care
By Lisa Solis DeLong
Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos serve as reminders of our mortality. That said, I turned sixty in April and perhaps like many of you, I am finding out that, while aging brings more wisdom, it also brings forth a wild curiosity much like when I was in my twenties. With this sense of empowerment comes a comfortability with doing things outside the box.
Instead of relying on what others recommend for me, I feel empowered to lead myself and craft a unique plan of action to attend to my spirit that feels right to me. I am more interested in ways to optimize the world, and in using alternative practices such as “energy work.”
It seems to me more of us are integrating self-care to fill some pretty cavernous emotional and spiritual voids. There are many mainstays previously ignored by conventional institutions becoming coveted by mainstream culture. Here are 6 ways to support spiritual uplift.
- Self-awareness: reflection, journaling, gratitude, body awareness
- Community: prayer, service, retreats, circles, ceremonies
- Movement: walking, dancing, yoga, forest baths, chi gong
- Presence: meditation, quiet time, media fast, breath work
- Intuition: sensitivity toward synchronistic events, trusting my gut, noticing symbols, paying attention to dreams
- Energetic hygiene: breath work, Epsom salt baths, sound baths, grounding
Each of these components build a durable construct to protect and maintain connection to the life force breathing us into being. This list may not include what you do for your self-care fix, but it is a good example of actions we can take to attend to our spirit. In future articles, I will share stories and give examples of each of these components and encourage you to make your own discoveries. Together we can build the bridge between self-care and leadership to create more joy in leading ourselves and others.
Join us on this joyful journey, connect at Thriving Leader Collaborative to access resources and assessments. Join the conversation on social media: LinkedIn, Instagram. Curious where you thrive? Take the Wellbeing Balance Assessment.
