Be kind to yourself is one of those things that people say, but what do they really mean by this, how exactly should we be kind to ourselves?
As runners we put ourselves through physical and mental torture.
There are endless mantras of ‘keep going’, ‘push harder’, ‘do more’, et. etc. you know them all, I am sure.
And of course, there is a place for this.
But whoa there, hang on a minute, for every yin there’s a yang, for every up there’s a down, for every epic run there’s an epic recovery… right?
If not, and you have been pushing yourself too hard, feeling frustrated because you are not making the gains you really feel you should be because of the gargantuan effort you have been ploughing into your running. Then perhaps it’s time to take your foot off the gas, take a moment or two and be kind to yourself.
Rest, sleep, self care and love are the flip side of training hard and they are just as important as the training itself.
There are solid physical scientific reasons for this. When we run, we injure ourselves in small ways, we may not notice it, but this is the work, repairing the damage caused by running is how our bodies get stronger. The rest periods, especially sleep, and excellent nutritional intake are what we need to repair the damage, recover fully and make ourselves stronger.
I don’t need to convince you right, we all know this, we have all heard it a hundred times.
So back to the point of this post, what exactly do we do to be kind to ourselves?
At one of my darkest moments, I was doing nothing for myself, even the absolute basics were being neglected. I hope you never find yourself there, but out of that period came what I now understand to be a profound revelation and this is what I mean by Be Kind to Yourself in a Million Different Ways:
It’s about taking every little tiny opportunity you get to be kind to yourself and appreciating the good in every little thing we do, relishing it, enjoying it.
Once you start you will see there is wonder, beauty and amazement in almost everything we do.
These things will be a little different for everyone, but some big things are:
Establish a sleep routine
Clean bedding. Maybe a hot water bottle if your bedroom is freezing cold like mine. A relaxing podcast – I would recommend ‘Nothing Much Happens” or perhaps a short relaxing meditation. Appropriate lighting – no blue light. A supportive pillow. A relaxing herbal tea half an hour before retiring for the evening. There could be many things, but literally anything you can think of to make your sleep as comfortable and as deep and restorative as you possibly can.
Eat well
We all know what is good for us, but the whole process of shopping for, storing, preparing, cooking and eating food is full of endless opportunities to make good decisions that are fulfilling the objective of being kind to ourselves. Take your time, enjoy chopping the vegetables, be thankful for them. When eating, slow down, chew every mouthful slowly and thoughtfully, think about where your food came from, how it is being absorbed into your body and how it will help restore your strength and power. Practice this every day and it changes how you feel about eating. It makes it an act of kindness towards yourself. Of course any love and care you pour into your food preparation will be kindness shown towards others you may eat with too.
Cleaning
Yep, get cleaning yourself, and your home. We all feel good after an invigorating shower or a hot bath right? Why not treat yourself to some nice soap, or perhaps an Epsom Salts bath? Why not head down to the sauna and spa? We also feel better when our homes are clean, comfortable, warm and welcoming. So do the dishes. Put those clothes away. Etc. You know all this already, right?
Socialising
it is super important to spend time with people we care about. Choose your friends wisely. At some point I realised that there were people in my life that were really not helping, little snide remarks diminishing my achievements, that kind of thing. Let those relationships go, they are not healthy. Focus on the people who are supportive and encouraging, the people who are delighted for you when you do well, and then, return that kindness.
Be Kind to Others
By being kind to others we are also being kind to ourselves. ❤️
By being kind to others we are also being kind to ourselves. ❤️
By being kind to others we are also being kind to ourselves. ❤️
I don’t know what to say for once, I think this speaks for itself. I can only repeat it.
Skip the Treats
Huh? Aren’t treats meant to be well, a treat? Nope! It’s a big lie. All those things we think of as treats – beers, wine, chocolate bars, sweets, cake, liquid cake – you know the super sweet things that are sold as coffee these days, convenience foods, take aways, etc. are really not that good for you! Again, we all know this. Yet we persist in thinking of them as ‘treats’, when in actual fact, they are anything but in the context of taking care of ourselves. They are okay once in a while, but if you have a habit, it might be worth thinking about something else to replace it with that actually is a treat perhaps?
Running
Hang on, isn’t the running supposed to be the tough bit?
Well, yeah! However, there’s nothing stopping you from being kind to yourself in all the supportive actions you have to make before and after a run. Stretches – dynamic stretches before and static stretches after. Clean kit, prepared and ready to go. Two, or three pairs of running shoes so every time you go out you are pulling on dry shoes. Rinsing the mud, sweat and goodness knows what else from your shoes after each and every run so they don’t end up stinky and smelly. Yep – you got this!
Everything Else
It actually doesn’t matter what we are doing, if we can find a way to do it in a way that is kinder to ourselves, choose that way.
I am sure by now you have got the idea, I believe that being kind to yourself is not something we do just once as an isolated act (perhaps even with associated feelings of guilt?), but something we should actively work on to establish solid routines and practices, it should be present in all our actions.
This will take some initial effort, but will also soon become second nature.
How are you kind to yourself? Do you have a good tip to share that made a big difference in your life?
Until next time – Be Kind to Yourself in a Million Different Ways!
p.s. as a random experiment just to see how it feels, next time you see some, buy yourself some flowers.