15 Smart Self-Care Questions for Challenging Times

Smart self-care is not a luxury… it’s a necessity for vibrant living.

And in times of unrest, chaos and uncertainty, we need to practice smart self-care more than ever.
I’m going to share a really simple exercise that I use when I’m feeling stressed out and I’m not sure what exactly it is that I need. It’s called S.O.S.

That happens to be the Morse Code International Distress Signal (save our ship, save our souls, send out succor).
But I named it that because it’s like the gas indicator on your fuel tank. When you’re driving your car and the gas gets low, the little red indicator light goes on. It’s an “S.O.S.” signal—a warning call for help to say “Please fill me up!”

When that little light goes on…

• Do you Get ANGRY? And say “I’m so mad at you! I don’t have time for this!”
• Shame it? Blame it? Call it names? “Shame on you for running out of gas. How dare you! You’re so selfish and stupid! Why would you possibly need gas now?”
• Or worse, do you IGNORE it? Put a happy face sticker over it and pretend all is well. And keep driving your car… right into the ground.

No! I hope not! If you are a sane person you will stop and refill, right?

You can’t drive your car on an empty gas tank, so why do you think you can live your life on fumes?

And in times like these, we can’t be living on fumes. We ALL need to fill up our gas tanks… every day, really. And maybe multiple times a day.

Smart Self-Care is all about connection with three things—Self, Others, Spirit.

So, here’s my simple self-assessment (with 15 questions to consider) that you can do when things get stressful:

SELF

1. How am I doing today on a scale of 1-10?
2. What emotions am I experiencing?
3. What do I need (physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually) to help me feel better, balanced, grounded?
4. When I get quiet, what is my intuition telling me?
5. Am I breathing consciously?

OTHERS

1. How is my family doing today?
2. What emotions are they experiencing?
3. How can I actively work to keep our connections open, positive and uplifting?
4. How am I connecting with friends, neighbors, relatives, colleagues and others who may need support or who could help to support me?
5. Am I asking for help when I need it or am I offering my help to others?

SPIRIT

1. How is my heart today?
2. What spiritual practices help to ground and center me?
3. Am I allowing my spirit to be lifted by inspirational reading, caring friends & time in Nature?
4. Am I making prayer and/or meditation a priority?
5. What are 3 things I’m grateful for today?

While you could journal about these questions or discuss them with a trusted friend or family member, it’s also easy enough when you feel your stress rising to say “Oh! Let me do my S.O.S. Scan!” and then just check in yourself… where are you most out of balance—with Self, Others, or Spirit—and then let your inspired actions guide you to a rebalancing from there.

If you do this every day and really listen to your wise inner guidance and take action to practice better self-care, I promise your life, your business, your health and your relationships will all be better as a result! And we will get through this time of pandemic around the world together.

Blessings to you and your loved ones…
Elizabeth

P.S. Remember, please join us online at Celebrating Connections, my Facebook group. In these trying times, we need to support and lift one another up!