The Top 5 Self-Care Tips for Traveling Clinicians

Self care is an incredible tool to uncover the best version of yourself. When you put effort into a daily self-care routine, your life begins to transform!

Health care professionals are constantly focused on the care of others. As a result, you can become depleted and burn out if you only focus on the care of others and don’t take time for yourself. When self care is a daily priority, everything changes for the better.

Here are five self care tips to add into each day to improve your overall well-being

Tip #1: Find a Mantra

Use a mantra throughout the day to create a positive mentality. When you feel negative or your thoughts spin out of control, a mantra can ground your energy and improve your outlook.

Choose a mantra that resonates with you personally. If you suffer from anxiety, consider this mantra: “Everything happens for a reason.” This mantra is a reminder that you don’t need to be in control of every aspect of your life. If you struggle with self love, this mantra might be beneficial: “I love myself unconditionally.” This mantra encourages you to accept and love yourself no matter what mistakes you make.

Try various mantras and see what sticks. It may take a couple of months once you choose and begin to use your mantra for it to really set in. Write the mantra on sticky notes to put around your house, or create daily calendar reminders, until you get used to saying it on a regular basis. Your thinking creates your life. Therefore, a mantra that changes your thinking – changes your life!

Tip #2: Learn to Meditate Using Your Favorite Song

A lot of people struggle to meditate. The mind wanders and beginners can feel frustrated that they can’t control their mind and enjoy meditation the way others claim they do. As a result, some people give up and assume they will never be able to meditate.

The good news: there is a beginner’s trick that really works! The trick? Pick a song that you absolutely love, that soothes you and makes you feel amazing. Any length works, but consider a 4-7 minute song. The song length determines the length of your meditation. Pick a time of day that works well with your schedule to fit the meditation into your new, simple self-care routine. Listen to the song with headphones on and focus on your breath. Allow your thoughts to come and go.

After a month or longer, you should find yourself falling in love with meditation. Your mind begins to expect and anticipate these moments of peace each day. Eventually, you might enjoy longer periods of meditation and may not even need your song to enjoy it! Meditation is essential to self care because it helps you find peace, clarity and purpose outside of your daily busy thoughts that constantly bombard you.

Tip #3: Add in Healthy Habits

Healthy habit creation isn’t about restriction. There are so many messages about how-to take care of your body and what to eat, but we all have difficult days where our hard work goes out the window. So what happens when we repeatedly get off track? We no longer feel good about ourselves and our health deteriorates. There is a way to take care of yourself 365 days a year without constant restriction. This is by “adding in” raw fruits, vegetables and a lot of water every day.

We are all human and have days where we don’t eat our best because of long work hours, going to restaurants, nights out or other reasons. But even on those days, we can add in plenty of raw foods and water to take care of ourselves.

Tip #4: Find Time for Enjoyment

Some days are busy and we can only find a short time to do something we enjoy, but just that short time can make all the difference. On days off, find time to do things you love. Try not to spend your entire day running errands, cleaning, etc. Instead, set aside time for an hour or more of doing things you love to add more enjoyment into your life.

Not sure where to start? Make a list of things you enjoy doing. On hard days or when you are stuck in negative thought patterns, it can be hard to remember that you enjoy anything at all. The list will be unique to you since we all find enjoyment in different things or hobbies. Take time to explore and enjoy the various activities on your list!

Tip #5: Do Exercises That You Love

It’s obvious fitness is good for you, but it can be difficult to exercise regularly. Many people exercise for weight loss but struggle to stay motivated. Weight loss can be a wonderful benefit of consistent exercise, but it usually doesn’t keep you motivated to do it regularly.

The real reason to exercise is to feel good about yourself and life. Science shows that it’s a natural anti-depressant. If there’s a day where you work long hours, just 10 minutes of stretching in the morning and or an afternoon walk can count as your daily fitness. It’s key to find exercises you love so that you’re excited to add them into your routine!

All five of these self care tips are vital to live a healthy, happy life. They continue to transform me every day and I am sure they will do the same for you, too!

This tip is brought to you by Marie Coté of Miraculously You.