Are you ready for the 60 days selfcare-challenge?
Opdateret: 29. aug. 2021
Can you say YES to the following?
I often give support and love to others even though I'm in deficit myself
I don't have a self-care routine or I don't prioritize myself
I've felt either drained, exhausted or overwhelmed during the last month
I am usually taking care of anyone else before myself
Then you're definitely not alone darling, and the good news is; The #60daysselfcarechallenge is here to help you change this behaviour!
After 60 Days in this challenge, I bet you'll
feel happier and empowered
have learned how to implement self-care in your daily life
have learned the power of daily self-care
have seen with your own eyes how much more you're able to give to others when treating yourself first
feel less overwhelmed, exhausted and drained
Requirements to participate in the challenge
Commitment to actively choose and treat yourself
Persistence as there will be difficult days, where you would like to skip (but there is no skipping!)
EVERYONE can participate as this challenge is FREE
Disclaimer: This challenge is inspired by Andy Frisella' "75 HARD challenge". I'm no specialist and you should contact your healthcare professionals with any questions about your ability to participate in this challenge with your current physical and mental situation.
Rules for the challenge
Each day for 60 Days You Have: To take care of your physical health - Drink 2 L water each day - Eat healthy and nourishing food - 30 Min movement/workout - Create a good sleeping routine
To take care of your intellectual health - 10 Min podcast/audiobook/book to inspire yourself
To take care of your emotionally and mentally health - 2-5 Min affirmation saying out loud or writing down - 10-15 Min meditation/calming yoga/simply lying on the bed. - Spent time outside in nature
To keep up motivation and see your progress through this challenge I recommend writing down your daily thoughts, emotions, challenges, mood during the day and if some of the self-care helped you feel better each day. It should not take longer than 5 minutes to do.
I'll be writing a blog post with examples of how I will be writing down my progress. The link to post will come later.
What if I miss a day?
You only cheat yourself when skipping a day! Remember, this journey is for YOU.
I know it can be difficult to implement new habits and routines when having a busy lifestyle and other people depending on you, but a part of this journey is to do this self-care routine for 60 days straight! Make sure to plan your day, so you only can succeed! This means to start your day, with what you want to achieve that day - such as this challenge. I've made a guide to plan your day here.
Know there will be some hard days, but commit fully to do this, because you're doing it for your own health and happiness! YOU are the longest and most important relationship you have in this life. It's time to treat yourself like the main character and beautiful person, you truly are!
But sometimes we all need a helping hand on the hard days! Use the hashtag #60daysselfcarechallenge to get support from others in this journey and to give support to others! We're all in this together!
Explanation of WHY these rules are chosen
To take care of the physical health
2 L water each day
About 60 % of our body is water. We need water to function, but unfortunately, it's become really common to replace water with sodas and other kinds of drinks. Now it's time to go back to basics in this challenge and make sure to drink 2 L of water each day. You can read more about water intake and benefits from Mayo Clinic here.
Healthy and nourishing food
It's said, that "you are, what you eat". It's become maybe a little too easy to get fast food with too much sugar, fats and salt. Don't get me wrong sugar, fat and salt are good for you, but ONLY in SMALL amounts. To actively choose a healthy, nourishing and variated diet for this challenge you're choosing to give yourself the proper fuel, your body needs! A healthy diet means lots of vegetables, legumes and whole grains. Look at WHO homepage about healthy diet if any case of doubt about your food. This challenge is NOT about counting nutrients and your food, but instead about choosing the right kind of fuel for your body.
In a busy lifestyle, I like meal prepping for the week. It makes it easier to ensure healthy and cheap food! There are many different meal-prepping profiles on YouTube or Pinterest, Budget Byte is one of them! Here is her homepage and her YouTube. You can also choose your own recipes and use day to day preparation or another diet. Your choice!
Movement/workout
We only get one body and the health of it is crucial to be happy in life. If you have ever gone for a run and felt the increased positivity, happiness and joy, you know what I'm talking about! Sports help to reduce stress, makes your body stronger and makes your brain release endorphins (one of your feel-good hormones). According to WHO an adult should have about 150-300 minutes of movement during 1 week, which is about 30 minutes of movement each day.
There are many kinds of movements and workouts to try out. What's important is, that you find something, that's easy for you to do every day and LIKE to do. On YouTube, you'll find plenty of home workouts. One of my favourites is to step with Jenny Ford. But simply running or going for a walk every day is also an easy way to get some movement!
God sleeping routine
Sleep is very important to recharge, to storage the days' activities to memory and to ensure freshness in the morning. If you like me have been down-prioritising sleep-hours and maybe even been having a bad habit of spending time in front of social media before going to sleep at night. It's time to make a change hun, and in this challenge, we're starting to prioritize our sleep as the important matter it is!
Sleep foundation has a really great guide to how to prioritize sleep better and making a great sleeping routine for you at the "Make sleep a priority"-section of their page.
To take care of intellectual health
Podcast/audiobook/book
I'm a believer in expanding one's horizon. I find it important to learn something new every day to keep the brain healthy. Choose to inspire yourself by hearing or reading something for 10 minutes each day. Maybe it will bring you new perspectives of life, to achieving your dreams or new great conversation topics with your family or friends. In my life, it's hard to get the time to read a book. I like listening to podcasts/TED talks on YouTube/audiobooks while doing the dishes, cooking, walking or driving in the car. I like using Spotify for my podcasts, but there are many possibilities and you can for sure choose whatever might help and inspire you!
To take care of emotionally and mentally health
Affirmations
Affirmations are the best way to create yourself a positive mindset and good self-esteem. I use a little notebook to sit down 2-5 minutes to write down: - what I'm happy about - what I'm grateful for - what I would love to achieve I'll share another blog post about HOW to actually start writing affirmations down or saying them out loud. I'll link it here when I've made it. Until then use these sentences as inspiration.
Meditation/calming yoga/simply lying on the bed
When having a busy everyday life I easily feel overwhelmed and exhausted. The body and mind need rest during the day - they need a break sometimes. Meditation gives the mind an opportunity to relax and feel aware. To do this daily you'll be able to feel more concentrated and focused. You'll even find yourself filled with more kindness, better self-esteem and higher self-awareness. Yoga can help you feel calmer and less stressed. If these two things sound too difficult for you simply lying in silence on the bed or floor for 10 minutes gives your body great relaxation as well!
I've been recommended Boho Beautiful on YouTube and Calm app by a follower to guided meditations. I'm myself going to try these out for the next 60 days in the challenge. I can also recommend Qi Gong yoga on YouTube if you like a guided calming yoga.
Nature
Have you ever felt the peaceful feeling when looking at seeing, listening to the birds or walking around on the grass with bare feet? Nature has some calming and some might even say magical powers! Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Being in nature is a perfect way to take a break from a busy lifestyle with working and being inside. Did you know that we spent about 90% of our time indoors? No wonder we feel stressed and overwhelmed sometimes. It's time to change this statistic by choosing to go outside each day for 60 days. You can easily be in nature while doing some of the other steps in this challenge, for example, writing your affirmations, do your exercise or getting inspired while being outdoors.
I would love to hear if you're interested in participating in this challenge?
Please share in the comments below! I start my challenge Monday 30-08-21. You're welcome to follow along
my journey or participate along yourself!