Transcript:

Our course truly starts here, focusing on the attitude of self-care. If you are already the N^o1 in your own life, that’s awesome! Never let that fade, but also remember to be respectful of others. However, I am sure there are many of us out there who sometimes end up not taking good care of ourselves especially when responsibilities pile up and. to tend to them, we need to put our needs aside.

You, of course, cannot neglect your responsibilities, but at the end of the day, come back to yourself and think whether you received enough attention from yourself. We will go into practical means of self-care throughout this course, so we invite you now to keep this attitude in mind and when in doubt always ask yourself: ‘what would a person who loves themselves do?’.

But what does it mean to have a self-loving attitude? According to the Collins dictionary self love is the instinct or tendency to seek one's own well-being or to further one's own interest. It requires you to regard yourself as you would your best friend or your child; to have confidence in your values and skills. This is especially important when working in a setup in which you are constantly on your own and receiving feedback and input mostly in written form which easily lends itself to interpretations. Instead of being overly critical, be apologetic with yourself, while practicing tough love only when necessary to keep you on the right track, and take care of your health: both physically and mentally.

A self-care tip: When you have some free time, list out all your achievements from the beginning of your life up until today. Start with being born, learning to walk, to speak, to write, to read, and so on. From the smallest to the biggest achievement. It will show you how much credit you really deserve!

A self-care warning! Rejecting this idea of self-love is strongly connected to low self-esteem, through which you generally create various hurdles for yourself. According to sources like the Counseling and Mental Health Center of Texas University, low self-esteem can actually have devastating consequences. It can cause anxiety, stress, loneliness, and increase the likelihood of depression. Not to mention the negative effects it has on your friendships and romantic relationships.

Let’s see how you score on self-care. Download the attached pdf, which is a short quiz on self-love, and answer the questions honestly. On the second page you will find the assessment which will tell you what your answers show you about the level of your self-care at this moment.

The PDF below is editable. Download it and fill it in electronically! No need to print it, unless you really want to.