Wellness
Extreme Self Care
By Jan Hornford
Mar 17, 2008

We here a lot about extreme sports these days. Extreme sports tend to be activities that have a high level of danger, require a high level of skill and use highly specialized equipment. Extreme sports tend to be individual rather than team oriented and often involve spectacular stunts. Extreme sports mean that you are playing at a high level.

Wouldn’t it be fabulous if we all decided to practice extreme self-care? The great thing about extreme self-care is that it does not require a high level of danger, it does not require high skill levels or specialized equipment and it does not involve spectacular stunts. What Extreme Self-care has in common with extreme sports is that they both are individual activities and they both require you to play at your highest level.

Extreme Self-care is about making a high level commitment to yourself and committing the motivation, energy, and time required to nurture your Self so that you can be the best person you can be.

Self–Care is an extremely important component to creating the life you want. Taking care of yourself is one of the first steps on the journey of discovering your truth and accessing your creativity. When you take time for yourself it allows you to stop doing for awhile and to just BE. It is in the Being where your power lies.

When you take care of yourself you can renew, heal, and create reserves of energy and peace. You automatically raise your standards and capabilities and create potential and possibility in your life. When you honour and nurture yourself you can hear the truth of your inner voice much more clearly and it is easier to know what you need to do.

If you are feeling like life is out of control, that you are undervalued, that you are too busy, or if you have fallen into a pattern of serving the people you love before you serve yourself or put the needs of others consistently before your own, then it is time to start practicing extreme self-care.

Coaching Questions
•Do you make time for yourself to do the things that energize and inspire you?
•How would it be a gift to others if you were to nurture your relationship with yourself?
•What would be the benefit to you if you had a deeper relationship with yourself?
•What would it take to make yourself a priority on a daily basis?

Action
Start practicing joyful and nurturing habits. Joyful habits are things you do that bring you joy, nurture you or energize you. Some examples of joyful habits are sitting in the sun having a cup of tea, reading, playing music, painting.

Working in harmony with joyful habits are nurturing habits. Nurturing habits are activities that support you physically and emotionally to be your best. Nurturing habits may include: flossing your teeth each day, exercise, eating healthy foods, or meditation.

Joyful and Nurturing habits are about practicing extreme self care.
•Make a list of 10 joyful habits – ten things that nurture, energise, and inspire you.
•Make a list of 10 nurturing habits that would support you in your physical and emotional health.
•Commit to doing at least one joyful and one nurturing habit each day for the next week. Tell a friend what you are doing and ask them to check in with you at the end of the week to see how you are doing.
•Commit to a time of ‘being’ for just 5 minutes a day. Make this a time when you do absolutely nothing – just sit in a quiet place and be.

You will never find time for anything. If you want time, then you must make it .
-Charles Buxton