Long time, no blog! I hope you all are having a productive and peaceful start to your week. I've been away from the blog for a little while now, and I wanted my first blog post back to be something important and effective that anyone can do! I've been in a bit of a mood lately with the uncertainty of the upcoming school year and having to save up money for life after my last year of college. On top of that, I've lost my fitness motivation since the Covid pandemic started earlier this year, and I'm not feeling my best. All this combined has left me in a funk, and I've been thinking of simple and easy ways to lift my spirits and help my mental and physical health. I hope that you try these easy and effective self-care ideas, as I've found they've greatly helped me! They are great to add to your arsenal of self-care tricks, and they can also inspire you to do greater acts of self-care.
1. Give Your Skin Some TLC
Personally, I feel some of my absolute best when my skin looks healthy and glowing. Since I've been away from home and traveling, I've been too tired to do my skincare routine properly and my skin is starting to look fairly dry and patchy. A lazy self-care tip that I've been doing that leaves my skin feeling nourished and happy, but isn't too much work or effort to do, is applying a facial oil all over my face. This is such a quick step to add to your daily or nightly skincare, and the product literally does all the work for you! I apply my High Expectations Facial Oil -my personal favorite- all over my face before bed, and the next morning I wake up feeling completely hydrated (use my code HIGHSONYA for $10 off a purchase of $40+). You'll feel much better in the skin you're in after doing this step, and it will really start your day off on the right foot.
2. Take a Social Media Break
Last week my phone finally bit the dust and I was without social media and anything cellular; it was a BLESSING! I'm the first to admit that I love scrolling through Instagram and TikTok for hours, but sometimes it's not the best for my mental health. While it's easy to gain inspiration and joy from scrolling through your feed, it's very easy to get caught in the trap of comparison and envy. Reminding yourself that social platforms are just highlight reels of someone's life is easier said than done, and I found that having that week-long break from media was incredibly refreshing.
Whether it's one hour or one week, I highly suggest logging out of your favorite app or turning off your Instagram notifications. Take a little time to enjoy the moment you're in, think of the accomplishments you've had, the exciting experiences you've lived, and appreciate all you've done just a little bit more. I promise you, you will be feeling so much happier with whatever your current circumstances are when you're not staring at the grand life of Instagram influencers all day.
3. Make a List of Your Successes
Speaking of thinking of your accomplishments, this self-care idea just came to me yesterday when I was creating a new resume. I tend to be an optimist when it comes to everyone else, and a pessimist when it comes to myself; I can get very stressed if I feel like I'm falling behind when it comes to skills or experience, especially now that my college life will soon be over. When I was starting to write my resume, I jotted down anything and everything that I considered a success in my life. I swear, I have never felt so confident in my abilities and proud of myself! I think it's easy to forget how truly great we are because we don't want to take our tiniest victories for what they are- victories! Once you start weighing every success, no matter how big or small, the same, you will be surprised by how much experience, knowledge, and insight you've actually acquired. Even if it's a success you consider to be silly, there's always a way to look at it that makes you realize you learned a valuable skill or made a difference somehow!
This might be more of a time-consuming idea, but I promise that you will be standing a little taller and your head will be held higher afterwards.
4. Do Ten of Any Exercise You Love
If you're anything like me, you're probably not feeling very motivated to work out. Sometimes you get in a funk, and while it will eventually pass and you'll get back into the swing of things, hating yourself for not doing any physical activity will not make your lack of motivation any easier. Something quick and effective you can do to make yourself feel a little better about your fitness journey and physique is doing ten of any exercise you love (the simpler the better!). Ten squats, ten sit-ups, ten push-ups, whatever you please! Just do ten whenever you're feeling down or doing something menial. Whether it's waiting for your food to cook, during a commercial break, or while on a phone call, doing your fitness ten will immediately raise your spirits! I'm usually my happiest after I workout, so doing a few simple reps of an exercise when I'm not feeling my best or particularly inspired to fully workout puts me in a much better mood. Try it out! I'm positive it will do the same for you.
5. Get Fully Dressed
My typical outfit as of late has been sweats or a big t-shirt, but that can get very repetitive and boring. I've always found joy in making outfits and doing my makeup, so one thing that helps to inspire me and bring me some happiness is to go through my closet and create some sort of outfit to wear for the day. The longer I stay in lounge/sleep clothes, the grosser and lazier I feel. Getting fully ready at least once a week or once when I'm in a funk really changes my entire mood! It makes me feel more put together and in control, it allows me to use my creativity, and it brings me a lot of confidence to wear an outfit I know I look killer in. It also helps me to be more productive, and in turn that makes me happier.
I hope you enjoyed these 5 self-care ideas! If you choose to implement them in your day-to-day, please let me know! I hope you all are doing well, and I promise I will be writing more for the blog and getting on a better schedule of posting. Your support means the world to me, and I'm so thankful to all of you for reading my posts. If you liked any of these tips, please feel free to share this post on your socials! Let me know in the comments how your day has been if you've read it this far <3 Have a great day, and I can't wait to catch up with you all in the next post.
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