# 85 HOW TO SELF CARE & BE SELF AWARE

No matter what Instagram is showing us...every single person goes through ups and downs. Let us repeat that. Every. Single. Person.
That next door neighbour who seems like she just 'has it all together', has her own stresses, accidents, relationship problems, insecurities and probably 500 problems she can probably think of on top of that.
It doesn't matter whether her problems are worse than yours or not. That's not important. It's the affect those problems have on the individual, how significant they are to you. 
And whilst it can feel impossible to control your surroundings and the things that happen to you. You CAN control how you choose to feel or handle a situation- good or bad. 

 

 

At some point in our life, we've asked the question, what is my place in the world? 

Who am I helping? 

How can I influence?

Whether it's being a great friend, bringing up your kids to be the best version of them they can, volunteering, helping out your parents, inspiring others, making other women feel empowered and beautiful and badass...there are SO many ways we want to contribute to the world!

You have to fill your cup. You then give away the overflowing, but you keep a cupful for yourself. 

 

So in order to contribute to the world and people around you, you need to make sure YOU are taken careful. In order to be able to contribute to all areas in your life, there is some part of you you need to give. But if you're constantly giving yourself to your friends, your clients, your work, your kids, then soon enough, they'll be no more of you! And that will be the worse thing!! 

We wanted to share some tips of implementing Self-Care & Self Aware into your life so you can not only keep that cup of water overflowing for you and others but also being Self AWARE so you can keep promises to yourself and change your environment and the people around you based on what YOU know is right for you...whilst being a kind human and keeping yourself in check with that too. 

OUR 5 SIMPLE TIPS FOR SELF CARE:

 1. SCHEDULE DAYS OFF AND SAY 'NO':

In the 'hustle & grind' way of of life these days, we're so quick to think we have to be 'busy' all the time. And if we're not busy, then we're lazy.

Busy doesn't necessarily mean you're productive...

Having back to back clients with zero breaks is fun, for the first week and then it becomes draining...then it feels like a chore, then becomes a thing that you hate doing, when it was your passion! It's not a bad thing, it just means you've burnt yourself out. 

Scheduling a day off prevents the 'burn out' from occurring. You have that day to do YOU. Hang out with your kids, not your phone/emails and kids, just your kids. Go for a massive forest walk, have a slow morning and wake up when you want to and then go get a massage. Remember it's one day off! So let it be YOUR day. Just try and we 100000% guarantee you will have a better week because of it. Seriously. Try it. 

Saying 'no' is a common thing that we all struggle with...ESPECIALLY if we actually have time or aren't doing anything. Have you ever been in an awkward conversation where someone's asked what you're doing _____ night and you've had to go along with their plans, because you didn't have any plans yourself? Then you're kicking yourself after because you really just want time for yourself but you didn't have a good enough excuse?? We've all been there. 

A law from a Mark Manson quote that you could follow to help practice saying no more often is:

“The Law of “Fuck Yes or No” states that when you want to get involved with someone new, in whatever capacity, they must inspire you to say, “Fuck Yes” in order for you to proceed with them.”

2. ONE ❤️ FOR THE BODY, ONE ❤️ FOR THE MIND

Your mind and body are kind of like Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. Without one another, you wouldn't have a working unit. It would be a lot easier to just smash out the gym 24/7, not sleep, work, hustle, eat Uber eats conveniently and lash from 6am-11pm seven days a weeks getting all that $$. But after a month of this, something will have to give and you don't want it to be because your body has completely burnt out now you HAVE to not do anything because you've got a high fever with aching muscles and a migraine. No thank you! 
The same can work out mentally too...it all seems fine and you're just coping and then all of a sudden you're on the bathroom floor with Niagara Falls size tears wanting to give up everything...and then going deeper and deeper into a darker headspace. 
 
To prevent these things, feed your body and mind something yummy/fun/soothing ONE A WEEK. It doesn't have to get expensive and complicated. 
Is it taking 45 mins on a Sunday morning and doing a slow stretch (either in your lounge room or going to your local pilates/yoga studio), or going for a peaceful 45 min walk. When you give yourself a solid hour to focus on your body, you allow it to fully unwind! Your body will LOVE you when it comes to the following week of back to back clients. 
Is it going to the beach? Going to a nails appointment and paying an extra $30 for the pedicure (maybe that can be done once and month)? Walking to your local grocery and buying yourself a bunch of flowers?
For the mind, maybe it's allowing 1 hour to yourself to listen to one of your favourite podcasts or an episode of Locks Lash Eat, Sleep, Lash, Repeat Podcast 😏
Maybe it's cleaning your pantry, or decluttering your lash cupboard, trays. Things that get you moving and cleaning BUT help your mind because you're only focusing on the one thing and finding solutions to a mess. That can be really therapeutic, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the start of your work and you're all set to get into to it with your new clean space. 
We haven't included things like watching Netflix or going to the movies. That's an unwind thing. And it's super important too, so make sure you allow some time for this but prioritise the things that you KNOW will serve your mind and body in the long run. Sometimes too much of the Netflix and chill can get your body into a demotivated, 'can't be bothered' state, where you then feel guilty for spending a whole weekend binge watching a tv series and not getting anything done. 

3. MOVE THE BODY

When you're in a slump; Move the body. Go for a 15 min walk, do a pump class, even if you want pizza, WALK to the local pizza joint to pick it up.
 
 
It's okay to be upset, have a cry and if you need to sleep, DO IT. But give yourself a time limit, then after that, pick yourself up and get keep going. Easier said than done, we know, but the only other option is staying in the slump and that just won't do any good for you and the people around you. 
You'll soon find that after a bit of moving, your state of mind becomes a bit clearer, you start finding some solutions to your problems and care less about the drama.

4. PLAY

Someone boring and old told us that once we hit a certain age, we should grow up, get serious and stop playing games. WHAT A PARTY POOPER!
What is life if you're not having fun or enjoying anything that you're doing? Sure, work hard and be responsible and smart with your choices, but why would you have to stop having fun?!
Playing and having fun is one of the best things for your self care. It gets you thinking creatively and more on the possibilities of your goals and dreams rather than the comparisons and overwhelm of everything.
 
Allow once and month to do something completely different to your normal routine. Not related to work/business/goals/family/etc. Just fun.
Choose something that floats your boat and just give it a go! Here's some ideas:
Rock climbing
Pottery
Paint class
Go to a local gig or jazz club
Have dinner in China town
Go to the museum 
Go to a comedy club
Go for a picnic with the kids
Paddle boarding
Trivia night
Go on...surprise yourself!
 

5. SLEEP, EAT & DRINK WATER

What you eat and drink effects your sleep. How much you sleep effects what you eat and the cravings and dehydration of the body effects everrrrything such as headaches, migraines, physical body strength, drained, washed out look, skin AND makes you snore more because it dries your naval and mouth passages! Bet you didn't know that hey?
 
You already know this, so we probably don't need to bang on about. Listen to your body when it comes to food and sleep and get at least 8 glasses of water in you per day ❤️

OUR 5 SIMPLE TIPS FOR SELF AWARE:

1. READ BOOKS/LISTEN TO PODCASTS

You can learn a lot about yourself from other peoples experiences and what they've learnt. Sometimes our ego and pride get in that way when someone that we know evaluates our life for us and points out our flaws and issues. We already know we have issues. We don't need to be told!
 
 
Reading/listening to some self improvement information helps us really evaluate and be honest with ourselves about what's important to us, what are the choices we need to be make, etc. Hearing advice from someone we don't know and doesn't know us makes it easier to do this sometimes.

2. QUESTION YOUR INTENTIONS

 

We all have impulses. We send that text before we've really been aware of the long lasting effect it has, we've blurted out a comment that we didn't realise go seem insulting to someone else. We've lied to ourselves and made choices purely to please others which end up doing more harm than good to us. 

Again, when we get honest with ourself and really question WHY we're making that choice, we can be a little more control of our lives and relationships with others.
For example, a client is upset with her set of lashes, she wanted them thicker. She writes and big long text complaining and then you write a big long one back explaining that you did such and such and she agreed and you always do such and such and if she didn't like them, then she should have said something straight away rather than waiting a week later...blah, blah, blah. It's all fair points. But is your intention to FIX the situation with your text or just make them wrong and you right? 
Seriously, question your intention honestly and then look at what's going to be the best outcome in the long run. 
The same applies to your goals and spouse and kids...look at the real intention behind it and if it's a little 'I just want them to prove them wrong' or 'take revenge', you can change it up. That's not to say don't be a badass and be successful when they say you can't. Do it, but do it for YOU. It'll feel better in the end. Trust us.

3. SET GOALS AND MAKE YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEM

 
Write them down, pin it on your mirror, tell a friend, set a target of when you want things done by. That way, each day, you're constantly doing something towards that goal, you're thinking with what the next step is, how to achieve that next step, etc. Goals will stay as goals until you move your butt and become aware that the only way to achieve them is getting disciplined and being accountable to getting those things done!

4. APPOINT A MENTOR/GUARDIAN ANGEL

 
Talking and asking for help is soooo important in life. You literally stopping yourself from learning and succeeding by 'doing it all on your own'. It's an uncomfortable thing to ask for help. Helping others we can do, asking for help is a whole other story. 
If you can find someone around you that you respect and trust, appoint them your mentor or guardian angel. They are the one that you can chat about the highs and lows, express your frustrations, celebrate the achievements and get some advice (in business or life) that will help you to push on. They don't need to give you the answers, but having another person that you can talk with will help you find those answers and put your attention on the solutions rather than the problems.
  

5. DAILY SELF REFLECTION

When you reflect back on your day and actions and behaviours, you can make some really positive and needed changes to help you get closer to your goals.
By keeping a journal or notepad by your bed and noting down things you're grateful for and what are the things you need to change, you are putting energy into yourself and your goals and that does something! Sounds like hippy talk but it really works!