Thursday 31 October 2019

Reflecting On 31 Days Of Self Care


You may or may not know that throughout October I created a 31 day challenge to practice more self care.

I wanted to write a post reflecting on the 31 days so that I could compare the difference, if any. I wanted to see how practicing more self care can affect us. I was intrigued to know if it really did help.

So here are my thoughts on how October has been for me...


Towards the end of September I was feeling a bit misplaced. I had spent 3 weeks away from home spending time with my family. I obviously love spending time with my family so coming back to London almost felt strange. It didn't feel like home because I'd been away so long. Like that holiday blues feeling you get when you're back from being abroad.

I wanted to do something that would perk me up, and creating a 31 day challenge of self-care activities felt like a good idea.

I put together a list of little things you can do throughout your day that would hopefully result in a really relaxed but memorable month. If you would like to see the challenges then click here! You are more than welcome to repeat this challenge another month or any 31 day period!

Some examples of the tasks I took part in were things like ...going for walks, learning new things, spending time with family, having an early night, cleaning the house. All those little things you put off but are always glad you did once it's done. 

We never take enough time out for ourselves and that's one of the main things I learnt this month.

This has probably been the most positive I have felt since 2016. I kind of feel on top of the world at the moment. Like I can achieve anything. 

I'm a massive procrastinator and this month I've had such a get up and go attitude. My anxiety seems to have taken a nice little back seat and I've been really brave! 

The amount of things I've done on my own is astounding, things I didn't think I could do. I've always had a bit of a phobia of public transport but this month I've been everywhere on my own and it hasn't fazed me. London transport alone is scary but it's like I was in auto-pilot. 

Another thing I did this month that really got me out the house was running. This wasn't a big part of the challenge, I recently decided to start training for a marathon so I go out 3 times a week to run. The difference in my energy is insane! Everyone has noticed. My boyfriend can't believe how energetic I've been. My auntie said I don't look so tired and I have life in me. My friends picked up on the same thing. 

I've been so much more productive, I've had a lot more early mornings than I usually do and even some earlier nights. It's made the world of difference and I'm unsure if it's the running or the self-care. Perhaps it's them combined!

Mentally and physically I feel completely different this month in comparison to the rest of the year. Looking back at how down I felt at the end of September is just baffling. The progress is insane! 

Sure some of my challenges I completely failed at because sometimes there can be sudden change of plans, but I did my best to stick to it and I'm proud of what I achieved. 

What I loved about the challenge is that they were small tasks so they didn't take up much of your day but because I felt so positive and productive I ended up getting lots more work done this month. My shop is getting a big old restock this month lets put it that way! 

Although I've enjoyed the challenge I am looking forward to it not being such a chore. I loved it but "oh i need to do this" was always on my mind.
I'm looking forward to practicing more self care at my own pace. I will certainly put more time aside now I can see what a great impact it's had on my well-being. 

I've actually felt less irritable too. I'm sure the boyf appreciates that! He's very proud of me this month, he keeps telling me. Cutie.

I'm also looking forward to getting back to my usual content. It's felt a little forced this last 4 weeks so it'll be good to get back to my normal creative self.

Some of the challenges have stuck with me as well. One of the tasks was to drink 8 glasses of water one day and I've been drinking more water ever since which can only be a good thing. 

Overall I really recommend doing things like this whenever you get chance because you don't realise how much you need it until you do it.

I've had a fantastic month and I'm really excited for what November will bring.

Do you want to give the SFYSelfCareChallenge a go? Click here to get started!




Share:

2 comments

  1. This was such a healthy challenge, I really enjoyed seeing your post on Instagram because it inspired me to participate and more challenging things through my daily routines. I think I will participate in this but maybe I'll start off small and do something that scares me once a week to break out of my shell. Thanks for always writing these cool lifestyle posts!

    Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for such a lovely comment Natonya! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I definitely recommend giving it a go, take it completely at your own pace :) x

      Delete

© Sleek For Yourself! | All rights reserved.
Blog Layout Created by pipdig