One of my goals for 2018 is to start practicing some self-care habits on a regular basis. You’ve probably heard me mention the importance of emotional health before, because I’ve had seasons of feeling anxious or down in the dumps before.

That’s why these self-care habits are focused on creating more peace and joy in everyday life. My goal is to combat any anxiety or depression that might sneak in when I’m not taking care of myself. I like to keep things simple, which is why these habits are all very simple to add to your daily and weekly routine. I hope you find these self-care habits beneficial to your life as well!

Why I’m focusing on peace and joy

Anxiety and depression are so rampant in today’s world, so I know many of you can relate to experiencing one or both of them in some form or another. But peace is like the opposite of anxiety, and joy is like the opposite of depression. I believe that the more peace and joy we have, the less we’ll experience anxiety or depression.

But where do we get more peace and joy?

I want to preface the rest of this post with this: I firmly believe that there’s no such thing as true peace or joy apart from Jesus. Plain and simple: you can do all the self-care in the world, but you’ll never be filled without His love and forgiveness.

Over the years I’ve been able to recognize and overcome a lot of my own mental and emotional turmoil. I can say for a fact that the biggest reason these haven’t been a worse issue in my life is because of my relationship with God. Nothing can help like the power of prayer, and the healing that comes from truly being changed from the inside out by Jesus.

Now in addition to that, there are so many tools and ways to deal with anxiety and depression that don’t require taking medication or paying for professional help (not that those aren’t valuable and sometimes necessary)!

They have to do with how we live our lives: what we spend our time on, what kind of people we surround ourselves with, what we eat, how well we sleep, how much exercise we get, and so on.

Simple self-care habits

I’ve been integrating in a few daily habits as well as some weekly self-care habits into my routine. I’m loving the positive affect they’re having so far! Of course, I don’t get to all of these every day, or every week.

Remember, it’s okay to miss some every so often. What matters is that you make an effort to be consistent and build some good-for-you habits into your daily life! Regular practice of these self-care habits will help you grow more peace and joy on a regular basis, so there just won’t be room for the weeds of anxiety or depression to pop up.

Daily self-care habits

• Quiet time (prayer & Bible reading) every morning
• Exercising for 30 minutes every day (even if it’s just a walk – this is SO good for my mental health and always impacts my day positively so I don’t like to skip even one day!)
• Journaling, at least 2 or 3 times a week when I have time
• Limiting how much time I spend on social media daily
• Making sure I spend a little time outside each day

Weekly self-care habits

• Taking a whole day off of social media (Sundays)
• Prepping for a new week by taking a detox bath, planning out my week on my calendar, journaling, and going to bed early on Sunday evenings

“Self-care Sunday” is my new favorite thing this year! Sometimes I feel like I have so much to do to get ready for the week that taking the time to slow down feels like too much effort. But when I do even one of these things, I feel so much more relaxed and peaceful. I can go to sleep with a clear mind and start the week fresh!

If you work a regular 9-5 job or you’re in school during the week, it might take a little extra effort to get all your weekend chores and errands done on Saturdays. But I can tell you it’s so worth it to leave Sundays open! You can unplug, relax, spend time with family, prep for the week, and start Monday feeling ahead rather than behind.

Changing habits for the better

Little routines can become habits and building blocks for a happier, healthier life. And I think it’s more than okay to make time to take care of yourself, because you can’t take care of anyone else if you’re not filled up first.

I think God wants us to be filled with peace and joy as His children. And this doesn’t mean a life of comfort and convenience, absent of any hardships. It means a steadfast state of mind and heart that carries us through the storms of life. And God should be our ultimate source of peace and joy. When we’re filled by Him, we have the courage to live out the purpose we were created for!

How can you take the time to add some simple self-care habits into your everyday routine? What do you think that would look like for you? Let me know if you found this post helpful! I’ll talk to you soon, friends! ❤

Xo,

Becka

P.S. – How to plant a succulent garden, and my everyday natural makeup routine.

P.P.S. – I’ve been using a new goal planner this year, and so far it’s helped me SOOO much in creating concrete and doable goals for myself. It’s called the PowerSheets goal planner by Cultivate What Matters, and I wanted to share a link for you guys to check out because I think these planners are SO AWESOME!

P.P.P.S. – Here’s a link to the 2018 prayer journal (pictured above) that I’ve been using this year to be more intentional during my quiet time. These journals were created by Val Marie Paper and it’s such a simple way to grow in your prayer life and relationship with God! I love it!