5 Simple Self-Care Tips to Add This Weekend
Valentine’s Day is upon us, and a young woman’s heart turns to … love? frustration? sadness? loneliness? What if it turned to self-care?
This week we have been talking about self-care, and what better day to put it into practice than on the day we celebrate love! Love for self is so often neglected. Even the thought of it turns many of us squeamish, because well, wouldn’t it be, you know, like selfish and stuff to love my self?
No, no, a thousand times NO!
If you don’t love yourself, how can you love someone else? Even the Bible declares, “Love your neighbor as yourself.’ –from Mark 12:31 Something about that says to me (and I’m certainly far from being a Bible scholar), you have to love yourself first.
OK, enough about the love thing. Well, not really, but we’re moving on.
So! Self-care. We already determined several days ago that you are worth it?
Do you believe that? It is SO true. Please make room in your heart for that belief.
Anyway, I have been thinking about some ways you might introduce self-care into your life this very weekend. No special purchase required. Not even special preparation. No extra cost. Just you being willing to give it a try.
These are fluffy. These are pretty easy. But these will give you a taste of setting aside time for yourself, and that is a great place to start!
1. How about a nice warm bubble bath? Fill up the tub and turn up the bubbles. Turn down the lights. Add a little soft music. How about a nice glass of wine? Close the door. Ease into the tub and relaaaaaaaaaax. Just allow yourself to be there and float. Enjoy!
2. Maybe it’s a beautiful day where you are. Lace on some comfy shoes. Grab a jacket and head out the door. Find a park or a trail 
or a place that you dearly love and take yourself for a walk. This is not a power walk or a hurry-up-and-get-it-done walk. It’s a leisurely stroll. Take your time. Look around. Listen. Smell the fragrance of the winter air. Take it all in, and, of course, Enjoy!
3. Decide for yourself. Maybe a friend calls asking you to go to a movie this weekend (50 Shades is out, after all), but you’d rather stay in or even take yourself on an adventure of your own. Out of habit, you’re about to say, “Oh, sure. OK, I’ll go!” but what if you catch yourself and say, “Let me think about that, and I’ll call you right back.” You consider the invitation, decide it’s not for you, and call back and thank for your for asking but politely decline. That is taking care of yourself.
4. Last but not least — not by a long shot — is this. Turn off your electronic devices for an hour or two. Longer if you dare. What would happen if no one could reach you? Life would go on. What would happen if you ignored Facebook or Pinterest for a spell? Yep, you guessed it. Life would go on. And really, how much would it feel to have some free time with ACCESS DENIED?
These are pretty easy, I know. Lightweight, in fact, but if these simple acts are enough to get you thinking about your self-care, Mission Accomplished!
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to add self-care to your daily life. Make the commitment to give it a try. And one last time, I want to remind you that:
You are worth it!
Now which of these suggestions will you try on first this weekend?
Planning mine too,
Steph Marks
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This wraps up our week of talk about self-care. If you have missed the previous articles, you can find the basics of self-care here, the reasons why here, and some actual steps to take here. If you have questions, you can message me on Facebook. If you know someone who would enjoy these articles, feel free to share them.