Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to wellness to success. My name is Dr Martine Canal and I will be talking about self care today. What did you do for self care? This podcast is in no way, shape or form any medical advice. So if you feel the need that you need to seek help, reach out to your own healthcare professional. So today I'm going to talk about self care. self care mindset. I have the acronym self care and how you relate to your mindset that I'm gonna be discussing because I believe that having the proper mindset will help you to accomplish anything that you want to do. And that includes self care. So, self care. If we spell it out, self, I have the, the first, the S. I have it for self awareness. Now, self awareness, what is that? It is the conscious knowledge that you have about your character, your feelings, your motive, what you want, your desire. It involves recognizing and understanding what you're thinking about your own thoughts, your behavior, your emotions, and how this can affect you and how it can affect others as well. It is crucial, crucial, crucial for you to grow because this is how you're going to be able to apply everything that you have learned throughout your life and having the awareness in the proper time when to apply it. these strategies, these principles, whatever it is, it will affect greatly how you live and who you live with. So it allows you to identify your strength, your weaknesses, and any areas of your life that you need improvements. It also help you to make informed decisions. Okay. And it helps you to grow. Your zone, your community, your relationships. So that's why you have to have this self awareness. And how do you increase your self awareness? Well, there's things that you can do to increase your awareness. You can meditate. Okay, you can focus on your breath. And then you just listen and you observe your thoughts. And you don't judge yourself while you're doing it. You can also take a walk alone so that you're able to tune in and to what your body's telling you, what it's feeling with each step that you take. And you can also journal. Journaling is a great way to put out what is in your head on paper. Then you can see what's going on and taking the moments to do that will make you feel at peace. Because if there's something that is stressing you out and you've taken out a piece of paper, then you'll know, you'll be aware of of what's going on and you'll be able to fix the problem. Now, if we move on to the next letter, which is E, I have empathy. Now, what is empathy? Empathy is the ability to understand and share feelings with another person. It involves putting yourself in the other person's shoes. Okay? So it goes beyond sympathy. You know, you have to have. quite a, a deep connection with the person and you have to be able to practice compassion and understanding. So that really is included when you want to build a strong relationship with someone, you know, also if promoting, you know, an effective communication and supportive environment, because you have to feel empathy if you want to relate. to another person at a deeper level and that in return will promote trust and that will facilitate any interaction that you have, either personal or professional. So what can you do to increase empathy in your life? You can write down again, journal, write down what's been hard on you and you, from that you can reflect on how treating a friend in some similar situation can be hard on them. So that's when you'll be able to see the situation differently and start acting differently. You can perform an act of kindness for someone and then you don't expect that in return. And you also, you can learn about empathy. You can read a book. You can Google it. You can, you know, Watch a movie with, uh, movies that have, you know, theme of compassion and understanding. You know, the, the channel Lifetime has a lot of movies with empathy being portrayed in it. Now, the next letter is L and I chose for the word to be love. What is love? Love is an emotion. It's a profound and complex emotion. It's That shows deep affection, care and attachment toward another person or even something. You can love your car. Now, does your car love you back? Maybe. We don't know. So it encompasses, it includes feelings and it can be strong, passionate feelings. Selfless, selfless love, you know, when it regards you. to close family members or even loyalty, supportive between friends. It can be physical love. It can be emotional love. And, you know, usually with, with love, you see support, you see nurturing, you see prioritizing well being of a loved one. So it's a fundamental human experience that at the end brings immense joy. fulfillment, happiness, and deep meaning of life. So you have to have love in your life. You cannot go on living without love. Now, what can you do to increase love? You can, you know, in the morning, when you get up, you can look at yourself, you know, self love is very important. So you look in the mirror at yourself and just compliment yourself. And when you do that, be genuine, be truthful to yourself. Okay. Just love on yourself and then you can love on others. You have to love on yourself first before you love others. You're not going to be able to love others if you don't love yourself. And then also you can engage in, in your favorite hobby, you know, do an activity that brings you joy. And also you can plan a celebration, small, maybe small or big. Uh, and celebrate a personal achievement, even if it's just you traveling solo somewhere or a solo dance or eating by yourself or eating with others. Just celebrate and feel the love that is just permeating from this. Now moving on to the next letter, which is F and I put forgiveness, forgive, forgiveness is a process of letting go of what? Of resentment, anger, and desire for revenge towards someone who has wronged or hurt you. Now, forgiveness is, can be very hard. It cannot be, it is very hard. I personally experience anger, Resentment, but I had to work on forgiving the person that did me wrong, that hurt me. So it does not necessarily means that you're forgetting what happened to you, but then sometime for you to move on, you have to forgive yourself, forgiving the other so that you can move up in this world. You can move forward with your life. And that when you, you perform forgiveness, it can lead to emotional healing, improve mental health, and then it will create a relationship, a healthier relationship, which in turn will foster compassion, understanding, and peace. And it is a very, very powerful act of self care and personal growth. So how do you increase your forgiveness In this world. Well, reflecting on the grudges and the anger that you put you there in the first place, write them out, journal them. Once you write them out, you can also write a forgiveness letter to yourself for any mistakes you have made. You can write a forgiveness letter to the person who did you wrong. You don't have to send them. You just put it down on a piece of paper. That would make you feel better. And. You need to clear your mind, you know, or relax. You need to relax and not focus on your problem, the grudges or the anger or whatever the person did to you. Relax. And how you can relax, you know, you can do yoga, you can take a warm bath that will help you to do so. And as I, as I said, writing it down, writing a forgiveness letter is very, very powerful because remember you, you are practicing self care. You are up leveling yourself to the best version of you. So forgiving yourself, forgiving the person is a powerful, powerful practice strategy. in order for you to live your best life. Now let's continue with the next letter, which is C connection. Now we move on to the word care. Connection. The C is the sense of being linked to someone other than yourself. You can connect to yourself. It's okay, but it's a sense of being lent or linked or bonded to others. And the way you are linked is either emotionally, intellectually, or even physically. It's having, it's having basically a meaningful relationship interaction with others where you are, where you feel that you are being valued, supported, and understood. So. What kind of connection they are? Well, they're connections with your family members. They are connection with your work, you know professional networks, you have romantic relationship, all sorts of relationships that you have to intentionally work on so that you can grow the relationship and make sure that it's strong ones so that they can be there for you to support you in time of need. It is essential. Connecting is essential for, you know, well being, having a sense of belonging, and basically that will help you from being lonely, having that feeling of loneliness. Strong connection in return will also foster trust Respect, empathy and create a supportive environment where you, you can thrive and grow. So how do you improve your connection? You can send a message, a simple message, a text or an email. You can mail something in the mail, put a letter in the mail to a friend or family member you haven't talked in a while. So that's a great way. To improve relationship, you can join an activity, a group activity that aligns with what you want to do, your interests, like a local meetup. And if you want to deepen a relationship with someone, you can have a heartfelt conversation with that person where you're sharing your thoughts and also you practicing active listening. It's not only about you telling your side of the story. You have to listen to the other person's story. and be genuine about it. And again, remember empathy. Yeah, that's connection. All right. The next letter is A and um, acceptance is the word. What it is, is an act of acknowledging and embracing reality as it is. There's no fluff about this. It is what it is. It involves recognizing your own thoughts, feelings or experience about something. And you do not, do not judge or provide resistance to it. Now, this is how I say you assess a situation, you accept it. Now, do you want to leave it as it is or do you want to improve it? But the first step is to accept the situation. And from there, you will be able to move forward with how you want to take care of the situation. So accepting the circumstances sometimes will help you to reduce stress and promote emotional well being by either helping you to cope with a challenge or uncertainties. Now, how do you Promote acceptance. Well by practicing mindfulness and acknowledging your thoughts and feelings without trying to change them. This is what I said earlier. You have to accept it as it is. You can create a piece of art that expresses your current emotion. Because once you're aware of what's going on in your life, you either accept it Well, you have to accept it, and then you have to move on from, from that place. Hopefully you positively move forward, because there's, there's no going backwards. Because in life, the only constant thing in life is change. You have to move on. The next letter is R, which is reflection. Reflecting on yourself is a process of introspection and considering your thoughts, your feelings, your action, and your experiences that makes you, you. So, you're going to be analyzing and evaluating. What happened in the past to gain insight and understanding and that will help you to aim For the learning that you need and the personal growth that you need to become the person that you want to be So you reflect and it will help you to Do what you need to do in terms of self care in order to for you to be physically mentally and socially fit So you will recognize by reflecting on yourself, the strength and the weakness that you have, you know, maybe you have many strengths and a lot of weaknesses and you will develop the awareness and the values that you have and the goals that you want to plan so that you can achieve your, where you want to be in life. Reflecting on yourself is a key component of self improvement. Okay, that will help you with self development. It will help you to make informed decisions. You know, sometimes adjust the behaviors that you have and it will enhance your emotional and mental well being. And that will give you a sense of clarity and mindfulness in your daily life. So how do you do that? Reflection. Well, you ask yourself questions. What did you do this, uh, this morning or the activities you did this week? And how are you feeling now? Were they fulfilling for you? Were they challenging? Does that help you with your purpose in life? Does that help you to feel better today? So all these questions, you can journal them and then you'll be able to answer them. And then by having the answers or having the, um, The awareness, because reflecting makes you aware of a lot of things, you'll be able to move forward, make a plan so that you can act upon them or upon it, and then evaluate your actions and, uh, see that if you have reached your goal for whatever it is that you want to do or be. And then of course, celebrating, celebrating the completion of the challenge, celebrating the completion of the actions that you took, you'll and treating yourself to something special. I don't know, like a, like a meal or a movie or a new book or going out dancing, whatever it is that you like to do, you have to celebrate with that. So now we go to the last letter, which is E and I have engagement. Engagement is the state of being fully involved and committed. That we're committed is very, very important. You're in committed to practice self care. It's also being interested in the particular activity, task, or relationship. Okay. So it, it made sure that you can participate, you know, with enthusiasm and connect to either your family, your friends, your coworker. Engagement refers to being dedicated, motivated, and having a sense of purpose. Okay. often leading to higher productivity. For me, being able to have a meaningful and productive life is very important. So I engage in activities that will make me having a more meaningful and productive life. So it is very, very important to achieve these outcomes and create a sense of fulfillment. in various aspects of my life. So that's why engaging, engaging in being yourself, engaging in meeting people halfway, engaging in doing some kind of activity with yourself and others It's very important for the nurturing and replenishing of physical, mental, emotional health. So how do you do that? How do you engage? Well, you build, you planned specific self care activity into your daily routine. You may do morning meditation, evening walks. Or you can take breaks during work, you know, you step out of your working environment to take your meals so that you can fully engage in your own thoughts and just disconnect from thinking about work from, for that time being. And when you're taking your break, you are fully present into taking care of yourself for that period of time. And that will make you a better employee. That will make you a better person because you will have the power to decrease the level of stress that you may have during that day. And also it's about engaging in trying new activities so that you can challenge yourself. You can learn new things. a new meditation techniques. You can create a new hobby like painting or writing. You can go rock climbing. You can go learn to, to scuba dive or I don't know, snorkel. You can learn all of that. You can engage with friends or you can be engaging in the community that uplift you. You can go to a meetup, a virtual book club, have coffee with friends. You can grow as a person and you can develop skills for you to be able to reach a higher self and be more productive. Or maybe you can get a new job. So you have to refresh on your, on your skills. So engaging in activities. engaging in being fully involved either with yourself or with others. It's very important. So, as I always say, self care is not, not a luxury, but it is a necessity for holistic wellbeing. Holistic meaning whole body. It is about understanding your needs and taking the time to meet them. It's not a luxury. That you're selfish, but you have to respect yourself. Self respect is very important. Self love is very important. Recognizing that it's okay to put yourself first. It is okay to say no. It is okay to risk, to rest. It is okay to ask for help, to take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health, and your social health as well. You cannot pour from an empty cup. You have got to feel yours first. So take time each day to nurture your body, your mind and your soul because you are worth it. it. You are worth living a productive and meaningful life. You are worth living your best life. So this is Dr. Martine Canal and I want you to join my self care empowerment circle Facebook group. If you are a woman over 40, where I discuss more strategies and tips for you to live your best life. So join it at self-care empowerment circle.com or go to martine canal.com to see all the goodies that I have, all the resources, strategies, and tips that I have so that you again, can live a meaningful and productive life. You guys take care, and I see you on the next episode.