25 Self Care Ideas to Kickstart Your New Self Care Routine

What do you do for self care?

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Self care is about self, you know the person you look in the mirror at daily? Yes, YOU! We tend to put ourselves at the bottom of our to do lists (or we are not even on the to do list at all) and neglect the need for filling up our cups. Self care is important because we cannot be our best selves for the family, friends, and co-workers around us if we are not taking time daily to care for ourselves. I know for me, in the past if I don’t make time for myself (at least ten minutes on a busy day) I will be no good to my family and will think about calling off work and curling up in my bed.

I approve of myself and love myself deeply and completely. I will make time for myself daily.

Jazzy Speaks

When you think about what would be on your list, think about those things that lift you up when you’re having a bad day, things that bring you joy, things that fill your emotional cup up in a way that no one else can.

Below you will find a list of 25 self care ideas that personally, I do myself. What works for me might not work for you. Check out this blog for additional tips. This list is just to help get you started or restarted on your self care routine. Remember, your goal is to find what works for you and stick to a routine. Consistency is key!

My favorite thing to do for self care is walking in nature with my son.

1. Cook breakfast for myself.
2. Do yoga. Switch it up and do yoga outside.
3. Listen to a favorite podcast or Ted Talk.
4. Wake up an hour before the entire household.
5. Turn on calming music and meditate (520 hz)
6. Meditate quietly
7. Take a long shower.
8. Do makeup.
9. Read a book.
10. Listen to a book on audible.
11. Scroll through funny videos on TikTok
12. Call a friend/family member who is not a Debbie downer but someone to lift spirits
13. Sit outside and listen to nature.
14. Go to the gym.
15. Complete a cycle class at the gym.
16. Go for a drive without a destination in mind.
17. Dress up and get cute without having a reason.
18. Bake a desert on my list and eat it!
19. Edit social media following. If they don’t bring me joy, DELETE.
20. Go for a walk.
21. Get a massage.
22. When grocery shopping, throw something in (a chocolate treat) for myself.
23. Cook a fancy steak dinner because I deserve a fancy meal.
24. Take a bath.
25. Watch a tv show that I am behind on.

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Self Discovery Nugget 6: Forgive – 3 Steps

Now that we have the 7 steps to discovering your true self, let’s continue to dig deeper because I filled you up with so many valuable nuggets.

The sixth nugget: Forgive Yourself in 3 Steps

Sometimes what is holding us back at being the best version of ourselves is the person we see when we look in the mirror. When was the last time you looked in the mirror and had a conversation with yourself?

First, you must accept responsibility for what has happened to you and for the things you have done. Being open and honest with yourself for what you have faced or are facing can be very challenging. You want to avoid feeling guilty, and regret. However, expect those negative feelings to creep in and use this as an opportunity to identify what positive behavior changes you can make.

Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it. — Maya Angelou

Second, when it comes to forgiveness, most of the time you are trying to make amends with someone so you can move forward. The same applies to self forgiveness. Making amends with yourself will help you learn to trust yourself again if you stopped. A great exercise I find helpful is to go in your bathroom, close the door, look in the mirror, and do something like this:

“[insert your name] and say: I’m sorry for allowing these things to happen to you. I’m sorry for how I’ve been treating you. You deserve better. You deserve happiness. You deserve to find out what your purpose is on earth and live a happy life. I will create happiness for you starting now. I forgive you.. Moving forward, I will try my best everyday to give you what you deserve. I forgive myself. I am proud of myself for trying. I am who I need to be in this moment”.

I am who I need to be in this moment.

Third, allow yourself to feel all the feelings that come out of this moment. Sit with yourself, observe and acknowledge what comes up. Give yourself permission to cry, to yell, or sigh. Come out of that moment on top and with your head held high and a plan to move forward. You can also use the four R’s of forgiveness outlined in this article. They remind us of the importance of self forgiveness — Responsibility, Remorse, Restoration, and Renewal.

You can stay stuck, but where will that get you? Remember, everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has ups and downs. Everyone goes through heart break. Everyone has moments when they doubt their abilities. Learn from those good and bad experiences, acknowledge the events that took place, forgive YOU, and move on.

Self Discovery Nugget 1: What do I like?

Now that we have the 7 steps to discovering your true self, let’s dig deeper because I filled you up with so many valuable nuggets.  For the next several posts we will dig deeper into each nugget.

Nugget #1: Write down what you like.

Self discovery has a lot to do with what we feel we may have lost within ourselves. A lot of times we see this in relationships or marriages. Understand who you are. What do you like? What don’t you like? What we like tends to bring us some sort of joy for a moment. What do you like to do? What did you like to do that you used to do that you don’t do anymore? That was a mouthful, read that again. As you read this, I would like you to write down at least five things that you would like to do that brings you some joy. This could even include a goal or two you may have for yourself.

You can get back to you!

Many of us put the things we like and even our goals aside to adjust to the “new life” we find ourselves in. Sometimes we do this without realizing it until years go by and sometimes we do this because we THING we cannot commit or find time for ourselves. Now, there may be some things you may have to adjust to especially when you have kids or have to take care of a family member. AND I want you to remember you CAN get back to YOU.

• What if I told you that you can still be in a relationship or have certain responsibilities and MAKE time for you to do whatever it is you want to do? (With reason and respect of course).
• What if you set aside specific time for you and your list of likes or for you and your goals?
• What if you set a timer so that you have control over the time spent and can be more intentional about what it is you are wanting to do?
• What if you discovered your purpose in life and it happens to be something you like and enjoy doing?
• What value are you fulfilling?
• What if you had thirty minutes to do something you like today, what would you do?

What piece is missing from your life? What have you lost within yourself.

I lost myself in a relationship and was stripped from my social life. I was being consistently inconsistent with myself in what I needed because I was trying to please others in an unhealthy way. I had to relearn some things about myself including WHO I was. So I had to ask myself and was asked in counseling: Who is Jasmine? What does Jasmine like?

It took me a while to know and understand it was okay to like to do what it was I liked to do. Who are you really? Be okay with who you are and what you like. Give yourself permission to change over time. Give yourself permission and time to identify what these things are even if you have forgotten or have been forgotten. Identify what you values are and how what you like align with those values. Understanding WHY these things are important to you will allow you to give yourself permission to set aside time for them.

• I like being social and meeting new people.
• I like doing community service work for a cause.
• I like to explore new restaurants and go to happy hours.
• I like to eat ice cream and sit outside and let the sun melt it as I try to hurry and eat it.
• I like to blast music (all genres) throughout my house.
• I like to talk and share laughs on the phone with my friends who no longer reside close to me.
• I like to listen to my favorite podcasts.
• I like to learn by reading or attending trainings from all over the world.
• I like to workout outside when the weather is over 65 degrees.
• I like to watch horror movies on Saturday afternoons.

Everything you need for your success, you have inside of you.

Everything you need for your success, you have it inside you. Don’t let anyone talk you out of your dreams or goals. Those are YOURS. Go after it! So I ask you again, what do you like? What are you going to do in order to allow yourself to tap into those things today?

To see the full blog I wrote on self discovery, click here.