You can’t pour from an empty cup.

Why is self-care so important? Self-care is an integral part of living a healthy and balanced lifestyle. If we’re not taking the time to take care of ourselves, our daily tasks can become difficult and eventually could lead to burnout. Taking care of your body, mind, and soul is key to living a successful and happy life.

Self-care doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. It’s easy to think that we couldn’t possibly have time to add in another thing we have to do, but participating in self-care doesn’t have to be a rigorous and daunting task. Adding in small acts of self-care one step at a time can help to ease into the practice. For example, self-care can be as simple as making your favourite meal for dinner or phoning a loved one for a quick conversation. The important part is that you are taking part in self-care at all. Like any change, making a conscious effort to take care of yourself will become habit over time. The goal is you won’t forget or get too busy for self-care activities, it will just be a part of your daily routine.

Very Well Mind defines self-care with five different areas: physical, social, mental, spiritual, and emotional. Therefore, self-care can look different to everyone. For some people it is getting to the gym every day, and for others it is making sure they spend time with their friends once a week. Compartmentalizing the different areas of self-care can help you check in with yourself and identify the parts of your life where you need to spend more time. A good way to prioritize self-care activities is to plan them into your week, just as you do your other important tasks. Participating in these activities ensure that you are feeding your body, mind, and soul with positive actions.

At its core, self-care is simply taking the time to do something that makes you feel good. It doesn’t have to mean doing an hour of yoga even if you hate yoga, or drinking a daily green smoothie even if you don’t like spinach. In fact, forcing yourself into these things that ‘should’ be good for you just creates unsustainable habits. Just focusing on doing small things that work for your life and make you feel good is the best way to get started. So what are you going to do for YOU today?

Looking for a way to launch your own year of self-care? A Personal Health Plan from Saskatchewan Blue Cross gives you the opportunity to seek treatments that can help you take care of yourself, with coverage for health practitioners like massage therapists, chiropractors and acupuncture.