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The Art of Self-Care

Simply how to take care of yourself in a healthy way. It seems that I have to
work on this daily. This includes physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual insight.

Depending on your age and vitality, how you work out physically will definitely vary. When I went to college I ran two miles per day. I really felt good! Needless to say, I did not have to carry around a bottle of water, either. I remember a good lunch could sustain me for the whole day. Now, I consider going up and down my stairs plenty of exercise during my home-bound days in cold Minnesota.

However long it takes you to feel energized with exercise in accordance with your age and physical condition can be determined by your doctor. Plenty of water to drink during the day and into the evening helps your metabolism. I was advised this year to eat like a king for breakfast. Eat foods rich in protein, but not many carbs, so you can burn them off throughout the day. Lunch should be a smaller portion of food; enough to sustain you but still allow you to burn off calories for the afternoon. Lunch is referred to as eating like a queen. Lastly, eat dinner like a peasant. That would be smaller portions than lunch. The difficult part of this is, of course, is having no food or only a healthy snack after dinner. The three meals do not contain sweets, except maybe (a healthy choice) on one day per week.

Don't forget the vitamins, especially extra calcium for bones and teeth. Keeping a positive attitude; look for the best and strategize to get it. If you are not where you want to be in life, realistically set up a plan to get there. If you really want to see what God can do for you, ask him to give you the “desires of your heart.” It is always fun to do this because you will never think high enough for what can really happen to you.

Your intentions have a huge bearing on the path you take. Whatever work you find yourself in, just do the very best you can with the education, abilities, and resources you have. Take time to offer a prayer of thankfulness and connection to the Creator no matter what your religion is.