Self care and creativity

“Take care of yourself,” psychologists constantly repeat to us. “In such a difficult time, it is necessary to strengthen the resource, not to waste the battery, put on an oxygen mask, reset, restart …” But how exactly to do this and at the same time meet those 24 hours that are already bursting at the seams from everyday worries?

Time for yourself is time for everything

Competently restoring our strength, we do not waste time, but save it. A well-recovered, strong, “filled” person thinks faster, copes better, treats difficulties easier, gives more love and warmth to his loved ones.

Conclusion: by taking time to restore ourselves, we gain time for all our affairs. Therefore, in no case do not blame yourself for doing something nice to yourself, paying attention to yourself. By doing so, you make a strategic contribution to your future affairs.

Recuperating is practically free

Taking care of yourself is not a matter that can be solved with monetary investments. Of course, we are all tempted to buy ourselves an expensive grocery detox kit, smart psychology books and two exercise bikes, but this is not self-care, but only an attempt to buy ourselves off. Full-fledged work to replenish the resource does not require financial investments. Only time and self-discipline will help you not to crumble by the end of quarantine, decree or any other “race” in which you are now.

Conclusion: before spending money, try to cope with the task without any budget. Just your body, your hands, your thoughts and your time budget. This is usually enough.

The whole trick is in the uniform filling of internal resources

Our internal forces are made up of different components, different sources. It’s a bit like how a full-color image is printed on a printer. You know that four primary colors are used when printing: yellow, magenta, cyanide and black. It is in this order that the printer prints the colors, no matter what the picture is. If at least one of the four colors ends in it, the picture will no longer be realistic and full-color.

The same thing happens with our internal resource: if we get carried away with one side of our life, fill only this “cartridge”, then very soon it turns out that other colors have run out, the picture has faded, life has lost all joy.

For myself, I have identified four main sources of my full-color image: body, heart, mind and soul. Perhaps this formula will also help you to monitor the uniform replenishment of your internal “colors”.

The most important vessel for the resource is our body (color: yellow)

You know, it is the yellow ink in the printer that runs out the fastest. Without physical fitness, we will not be able to do anything at all — neither a career, nor a family, nor just survive in isolation. We all know how to replenish this resource source: full sleep, healthy diet, physical activity. It seems that everything is so simple, but we simply cannot follow most of the advice from doctors and psychologists: we have no time, it’s unrealistic, we have so much to do…

We will try to formulate such tips that you can follow even if you are already very busy and exhausted.

• Go to bed an hour earlier than usual, or preferably two. Do you know a joke? Who goes to bed early and gets up early is a lark, who goes to bed late and gets up late is an owl, and who goes to bed late and gets up early is an Angry Bird.

Set priorities, do the most important thing first, and if there is an hour left before lights out, just leave it for tomorrow. Nothing will happen with unwashed dishes or an unfinished report. Things will never run out, but you can run out if you don’t get enough sleep.

• Try to get up an hour earlier, too, preferably about three or four days after you train yourself to go to bed earlier. Just try to wake up earlier and spend this hour on yourself: shower, tea, book, exercise, nourishing body cream. This pampering gives luxurious results.
• Do physical exercises. Movement is life, besides it’s completely free. Run in the park in the morning, run on the spot on the balcony, do planks for at least 20 seconds, master Pilates, do yoga, borrow a Swedish wall from children. Let the body move every time rage, anxiety, irritation, fatigue, sadness, fear rolls over. Give at least 20 minutes a day to sports.
• Drink water. Just water. Outside of isolation, we could afford coffee, juices and soda; now only water, at least 8 glasses during the day. Immediately replenish the lost fluid — you will feel better, think faster, your skin and hair will look better.
• Quarantine mode of nutrition. We all know how to eat right: vegetable fiber, enough protein, a minimum of fast carbohydrates. And more specifically – more vegetables and fruits, the simplest dishes without “bells and whistles” and questionable taste combinations, give up purchased pastries and add one dish rich in fiber to the diet. For example, a vegetable cocktail or a crispy salad.

The flaming magenta is our heart (color: red)

Now we are all experiencing tremendous emotional overload. Each of us gets about five times more stress than usual, and there is much less support: we are deprived of the opportunity to meet friends, meet people at parties and exhibitions, hug relatives, arrange family holidays.

How to fill your heart with love and warmth, keep yourself in an emotional tone:

• First of all, be kind to yourself. Do not torture yourself, do not demand, do not grumble, now is the time not to fight and achieve, but to burrow into a hole and quietly build up protection.
• Invest in intimacy with your family. Work, lessons, grades, money, shopping, business- it doesn’t matter. The greatest value is the contact with loved ones, communication, comfort, synergy. Hug more often. Play it. Laugh. Tell each other that you love, make compliments. Do everything to remind yourself and your loved ones that you are together.
• Don’t lose contact with your friends. Take the time to tread new paths to those who give you strength and confidence. Arrange zoom parties, start chats and groups where you can “wink” with friends, share photos. Be close, even if you are far from each other.
• Let’s give way to heavy emotions. Don’t be fooled, you definitely have them. Try to find your own way: play, sing, yell at the street from the window, cry over tender films, dance African dances… Anything, just do not keep fear, anxiety and sadness in yourself.
• Don’t take it personally. When relatives shout at you or grumble, remember that this negative is not addressed to you, but rather to the weather, the authorities, the whole terrible situation in which we have been sitting for more than a month. That’s why we’re family, so that we can tuck into each other’s arms. A child or husband shouting at us is screaming from fatigue, from fear, he is asking for help, and not trying to offend us at all.

Cold, sober, ever-living mind (color: blue)

Don’t let your brain turn sour. Family routine is very conducive to this: well, there is no time to read something other than “kolobok” to a child at night. I don’t have the strength to watch anything but stupid TV shows. It’s tempting to say to myself: I’m on maternity leave (in isolation, depressed, I’m already an adult, I already have a diploma), so I don’t need any special exercises for the mind, then I’ll catch up. Instead of catching up sometime later, you need to develop right now.

We need puzzles for the mind. Not a dull routine and not force majeure, but practical and useful creative tasks for logic and thinking.

• Plan ahead. Come up with the next step in your development. Set educational and career goals. Describe yourself in a year: your new competencies, achievements, skills, skills. Make a list of topics you want to understand – from quantum physics to Flemish painting. Keep a diary, write plans — make self-development a part of daily practice.
• Read books. What you didn’t have time to read at school and university, what belongs to the sphere of your interests, what will help you rise to a new level in your career. Read at least a little every day.
• Take small steps towards your intended goal. Watch educational movies, buy training seminars for yourself, write down everything that comes to mind – from a business idea to a question that concerns you.
• Exercise. Solve Sudoku, puzzles, tangams — exercise your brain for at least ten minutes a day.
• Expand your contacts. We live in an open world — let’s use it! Write letters to the authors of books, experts, authors of training courses. Ask questions, look for opportunities to enrich your intelligence.

The key touches are spiritual fullness

Spiritual life gives us those accents that allow the whole picture to “play”, not to lose meaning, not to roll away on groundhog day. For some, this is contact with God, for others – mantras and meditative practices, for others – good deeds like the habit of feeding stray dogs or sending money to charitable foundations, acting according to their morality and maintaining a sense of truth and goodness within themselves.

• Prayer or other rituals. Do as you are used to, but do it regularly. Don’t miss the moments when you get away from the daily routine and think about something big and high.
• Social activities. Do not give in to the idea that you are powerless and weak-willed in quarantine. Sometimes signing a petition is not so little, sometimes with a kind word or an encouraging comment on a social network you will do a good deed. If you want to help, help, if participation in a big common cause enriches you, do not deny yourself this trifle.
• Express your gratitude. Every evening, say thank you to yourself and the world for what you had good and pleasant. Find and keep in mind the moments when you felt supported, cared for, when you had fun. Say thank you to yourself and the world for your family, for your children, for being strong, healthy and ready to face tomorrow and see it in full color.

So, let’s summarize!

Our life will be full-color and bright only if we evenly fill all four of our internal “vessels”: body, heart, mind and soul.

In order to replenish the reserves of the resource in all four directions, you need not so much money and a lot of time, but self-discipline and the realization that while you are not full of energy, everything around you does not play and does not grow. By strengthening yourself, you strengthen the whole system that you manage every day.

Body: requires, first of all, sound sleep, as well as regular, albeit not the most intense physical exertion, sufficient water and nutrition without sugars and “fast” carbohydrates.

Heart: reaches out to loved ones, wants to exchange warmth, feel support even across distances.

Reason: you should not rest, even when you are less busy with career and personal growth. Exercise yourself by reading, planning, inventing, setting micro-goals and achieving them.

Soul: will be calm only when you are at peace with yourself and your inner moral principles. Do something that you think is good, so as not to forget how good it makes you feel.