INSIDE: Self-care is something most of us forget to do when life gets too hectic. Treat yourself to this 15-day self-care challenge and observe how your mental, physical, and emotional health increases.

 

If you feel uninspired, exhausted, or overwhelmed in life, there’s a good chance you could use a little more self-care to improve your state of being.

Self-care is simply defined as caring for yourself by ways of doing anything that makes you feel healthier mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When you take the time to care for yourself and your health, you are taking the initiative to achieve the following:

• Reduce anxiety
• Mitigate stress
• Increase happiness
• Improve overall energy levels

Self-care can look different and varies from person-to-person. To some it might mean taking a long hot bath and to others, it's going for a hike in the mountains. Whatever the action may be, the goal is to refresh the mind, body, and spirit.

Here's a 15-day self-care challenge you can adopt today that could introduce a healthier mindset and better habits into your life.

15-Day Self Care Challenge

Get yourself into a habit of self-care by doing something everyday that takes care of your whole self. Let's get started!

Day 1: Set Goals

What better way to start off a challenge than to establish some goals for yourself! Whether you're starting this self-care challenge at the beginning of the month or not, this is the perfect opportunity to pause, reflect, brainstorm, and write down what you want to accomplish in the days ahead.

This is your time to decide what is important and when you want to achieve it by.

Day 2: Create a Gratitude Jar

At the end of each day, write one thing you're grateful for that happened that day and place it in a jar.

When we intentionally brainstorm things we are grateful for, we change the way our mind thinks and we invite in a positive perspective to life.

Even if you have a day where you feel like nothing good happened, it makes a big difference to intentionally think of the positive.

After this self-care challenge, revisit your gratitude affirmations on a day you may need it the most. Your gratitude jar is there to cheer you up whenever you need it.

Day 3: Take a Walk

Leave the phone behind, strap on your walking shoes, and head out the door. This is something you could do in your neighborhood or at a local nature trail. Either way, enjoy your time away from the endless to-do lists.

Observe Your Surroundings:

• Stop and smell the flowers.
• Listen to the birds chirp.
• Smile and wave at others enjoying their time outside too. 

Allow yourself the time and space to be fully present on your walk and just breathe.

Day 4: Meditate

Your meditation doesn’t have to be long to be effective. A 10-minute meditation can go a long way in terms of reducing stress and clearing the mind.

Find yourself a comfortable seat on your bed, in a chair, or on a cushion. Close your eyes, and prepare to go inward.

There are a ton of resources available that offer free guided meditations, such as Youtube, Insight Timer, and the Calm app.

Day 5: Sit Next to a Body of Water

Is there a lake, river, or ocean nearby that you can pay a visit to? Even a water fountain at a nearby park or in a backyard will do. Sitting next to a body of water offers that perfect time and space to sit quietly with yourself and reflect. 

Observe the ebb and flow of the moving water and breathe with the movement.

Just like you’d observe your reflection in a mirror, you can reflect on your life while next to a body of water.

Day 6: Take Yourself on a Date

Is there a restaurant or cafe that you’ve been dying to visit but struggle to find people to go with? Why wait for a companion when you can take yourself on a date instead!

This is your chance to enjoy the food and atmosphere without distraction. You might choose to people watch or bring a nice book to read. Just do whatever makes you feel good.

Day 7: Listen to an Uplifting Podcast

Podcasts are the perfect form of entertainment to listen to while you’re doing chores around the house, driving to work, cooking, or going for a walk.

There are so many podcast options out there too, between healthy living podcasts, inspiring Ted Talks, adventurous outdoor podcasts and more!

Today, listen to something that brings a smile to your face or inspires you to take that next step in life.

Day 8: Declutter Your Space

We all have unnecessary items taking up vacant space in our lives. A cluttered space makes for a cluttered mind.

Use Day 7 in the self care challenge to declutter ten items in your life that are no longer serving you.

If this item is still useful but just not for you, find a place to donate it, sell the item for a few extra bucks, or hand it off to a friend.

There is nothing like a clean, fresh space so don’t forget to take care of any dirty dishes or trash piling up in your sacred places.

Day 9: Create a Vision Board

Do you have big goals and dreams you are working towards?

Create a vision board that inspires you to achieve these dreams even more. Hang it up in a place you visit everyday such as the inside of your closet door or above your desk. 

Visualization is a big step in the manifestation process. Create something that inspires you each day to take productive steps towards those big dreams you have. 

Day 10: Buy Yourself a New Book

Reading is a great way to unwind, relax, and detox from technology. 

Find yourself a good book and snuggle up on the coach with a relaxing cup of tea. Maybe even throw on some calming music and light a pleasant candle.

Day 11: Have a Dance Party

Dance like nobody’s watching on Day 10 of this self care challenge.

Dancing can be tough around others if we fear people will judge or laugh. But this form of physical movement is so healing for the mind, body, and soul. Dancing allows us to release built up negative emotions and energy that are weighing us down.

So throw on some juicy tunes that get your feet tapping to the rhythm. After getting jiggy to 3 songs or more, we guarantee you’ll feel so much lighter and happier.

Day 12: Spa Day

There is nothing like being pampered by someone else, and a spa day is often just what the doctor ordered.

Whether you’re getting a massage, a facial, or enjoying time in a sauna, allowing yourself to relax is one of the best forms of self-care you can adopt.

Day 13: Digital Detox

On day 13 of the self care challenge, take a digital detox for at least an hour or two.

When is the last time you purposely took time away from your phone or computer? Hide your devices out of sight for a couple of hours and find an activity that doesn’t require any connection to internet.

Enjoy a previous activity from this self care challenges or find something new to do, such as a craft or a do-it-yourself project at home.

Day 14: Meal Prep

Do you enjoy eating healthy but find it difficult to make the time to put together tasty, nutritious, and healthy home-cooked meals?

Set aside an hour or two a week to prep some easy grab-and-go options to keep in the fridge. 

• Brown rice and quinoa are super easy to make and can be added to any dish throughout the week.
• Cut up a bunch of fruit and veggies for convenient grab-n-go snacks
• Hard boil a half a dozen eggs
• Pop some veggies and chicken in the oven to bake and set aside.

Meal prepping makes eating healthy throughout the week a breeze and frees up your time to enjoy other forms of self-care.

Day 15: Hydrate With Crystals

It’s amazing how an increase in water consumption can improve the state of our well-being.

These days, there are multiple ways to increase your water consumption, such as fruit-infused water, sparkling waters, herbal teas, and more. If you enjoy the health benefits of alternative water, why not give a crystal elixir a try?

Most of us struggle to stay hydrated throughout the week but if you knew that the water you were drinking was infused with magical healing properties, wouldn’t you be inclined to drink more?

How to Create a Crystal Elixir

If you use a portable water filter at home, place a couple crystals like Clear Quartz in the top compartment of your filter and allow the crystals to work their magic for a couple of hours.

If you do not have a water filter that will fit crystals, simply place a crystal or two in a regular glass of water.

Keep in mind that some crystals are water-soluble and should not be placed in water to consume or cleanse. Check out our article on Crystals That Should Not Go in Water to gain a better grasp on the crystals to steer clear from when enjoying a crystal elixir. 

Final Thoughts

Self-care is so important to our health yet it's something we all tend to put on the back burner. When is the last time you did something for yourself?

Self-care activity allows us to relax, take a breather, and enjoy the things that make life more pleasurable.

Save this article in your bookmarks and the next time you feel burned out, exhausted, or overwhelmed, take some time for yourself with one of this self-care challenge.