One of the greatest gifts you could ever give yourself is that of putting some money aside to enjoy some travels, something which can be rather challenging to fathom if you have been conditioned to place value on material things over experiences. It’s perfectly understandable how one might want to be able to physically touch and see the manifestation of the results of their hard work, but at some point you need to start thinking about the true meaning of what you’re working towards.

This is where the all-important self-care consideration comes into play as far as the overall management of your personal life, a huge chunk of which is of course dedicated to the professional side of things, i.e. how you spend your time to earn a living.

So this brings back the discussion I opened with, which is gifting yourself the gift of experiencing more of the world through travel, particularly just traveling for leisure and enjoying some downtime as part of a vacation. While self-care gifts like the ones provided by UnboxMe and similar online stores can bring small moments of joy, you might want something like an experience that you can cherish throughout your life. This includes the so-called Digital Nomads whose travels have likely since blurred the lines between enjoying a vacation and just being able to say you’ve been to a specific selection of destinations, even if it means that you don’t really get to enjoy them to the full.

On one backpacking trip, years back, I was sharing a four-bed dormitory (two bunk-beds) room with three other gentlemen, a couple of whom were friends from Malaysia with the other gentleman coming from Sweden. The Malaysians had a third friend in their little travel group, but he had been allocated a bed in another dormitory room, so he’d come over for a visit every chance he could and we’d have five people in the dormitory room when everybody was staying in.

Long story short – it soon became apparent that the elderly gentleman from Sweden doesn’t really take care of himself to any acceptable degree. I.e. I don’t recall ever seeing him popping into the bathroom for what would could be said to be taking a shower – a mere shower and that was perhaps confirmed by some funky smells which one would especially be aware of if you were out of the room for a bit and came back!

So what I’m getting at is that this gentleman doesn’t seem to have struck a balance in his self-care routine!

Or, they may be other reasons explaining why he was unable to take care of himself. Maybe he no longer has the strength that is needed to care for himself like he once did. As you get older, that is just part of life. You get tired more easily and out of breath. Of course, if he decided to live in a senior living center (learn more about a very popular one here), he would have the help of professional carers to help him have a bath or a shower so he could feel a lot better about himself.

I know I always feel better after a good wash, and as already established, it is an important part of our self-care routine.

Treating yourself to a holiday and some R&R

He definitely seems to have gotten it right in terms of the much-needed downtime to relax the mind, body and spirit once in a while, enjoying some R&R to recharge the batteries. This is a very important part of the requisite self-care routine to maintain a life which will continue to be as fulfilling as can be.

Personal hygiene should come first

As touched-on though, a balance is required. Unfortunately as far as self-care goes, you don’t get rewarded for showing intent or for overcompensating in one area with the hope that it will cover for all the other self-care areas. Good personal hygiene should be priority number one.

Health is wealth

I said good hygiene should be the first priority, but only because it actually forms part of exercising self-care with regards to your health. Health is indeed wealth so any which way that you can make sure to stay healthy, some time, effort and sometimes even money should definitely be invested.

Prevention is better than cure

Mental health also forms part of the quintessential self-care regime, perhaps also classifiable under health in general, but in this and any other area of self-care, prevention is always but always better than seeking to rectify any negative developments with a cure, not to mention how expensive it would generally be.

So don’t wait until you’re sick to visit the doctor for a routine check-up and don’t wait until you start feeling drained to look towards hitting the gym as part of a drive to perhaps kick your body into the type of functionality that has it making better use of its resources to produce energy.

Making provision for the future

Finally, make provision for the future, which means looking at the likes of health insurance or other forms of coverage in anticipation of any unforeseen circumstances which could ensue, thereby severely altering your ability to keep taking care of yourself. In addition to having health insurance, it would also be a good idea to gather knowledge about Active adult apartments near you that can shelter you when you have crossed the age of 55 or more. Keep learning more about such apartments and communities that can support an engaging, independent, and maintenance-free lifestyle when you approach your golden years..

Love yourself! Most importantly, take care of yourself. Do what is needed. Plan ahead and plan wisely. Remember that you have got one life which you need to live properly. Take care of your health. Treat yourself to some happiness. Hold on to the things that make your life worth living. Let go of the negativity. Take care of yourself!