The last two years pressed the slow-motion button on our lives. Everything changed. Everything stopped. And we got to look at things from the lens of self: does this really make me happy? We found ourselves asking this question while doing pretty much everything. From looking at our jobs that took up more than 12 hours a day to thinking about our partners, our lifestyles, the food we eat, the books we read… we chased happiness. And it’s safe to say, most of us didn’t find it. Not that it is a bad thing. Instead, we found the next best thing in our chase for happiness: self-care. So what if things are not great; we can bury ourselves in our blankets or take to the yoga mats and find that small nugget of inner peace, calm and tranquillity. That pocket of peace right there, self-care and me-time, became our goal.
- 01. Self-care in 2022
- 02. The personalisation of self-care
- 03. Writing your own definition of self-care
01. Self-care in 2022
Image Courtesy: @myselflovesupply
Two years of self-care did end up teaching us a lot, Which begs the question: what does self-care look like in 2022? Does it offer anything new? Well, it certainly does. For one, we’ve evolved. Self-care is no longer considered selfish. After the tough two years that we’ve all had, we want to take the time and put ourselves first. Getting a good night’s rest, eating food that your body agrees with, staying hydrated, and taking breaks are now essentials. And 2022 plans to keep it that way.
02. The personalisation of self-care
.jpg "The personalisation of self-care")
Image Courtesy: @lovebeautyandplanet
Another new development? The personalisation of self-care. There is no “right” way to care for yourself. While there is no shortage of advice, routines and even hacks to indulge in me-time, research (and lots of personal experiences) shows that ultimately, self-care is a personalised routine, not necessarily something that always makes sense to a broader audience. A research piece published in Harvard Business Review highlights the importance of defining self-care on one’s own terms to ensure it doesn’t get pushed down to the bottom of the to-do list. “Given the abundance of self-care advice, most of us are operating with a set of assumptions about what wellness should look like. But only you can determine what your mind, body, and spirit need to thrive,” states the article.
03. Writing your own definition of self-care
Image Courtesy: @lakme
Everything from binge-watching Netflix to indulging in a 30-minute beauty routine to speaking to a friend counts. Popular notions of self-care, like yoga in the morning or pushing yourself to eat healthily, come from a good place but often make us feel guilty because we don’t find peace. So stop! Let 2022 be the year that you write your own definition of self-care. Start paying attention to what makes you feel energetic and excited and what feels like a chore. What makes you experience that sense of calm, peace, and happiness is your self-care. Let’s personalise our self-care this year. Let’s put ourselves first and move at our own pace.
Written by Ainee Nizami Ahmedi on Jan 25, 2022
I love to write, sip on chai, and sit by the beach... in that order! With over a decade of experience in writing, I enjoy reading and writing stories that start a conversation.