Thinking of others isn’t something social entrepreneurs find difficult. In fact, they do it daily. However, it is very common that dedicating most of their time and energy looking out for others can lead to putting themselves on the back burner.
Happiness or well-being is found in the balance between two extremes. (Aristotle).
The good news is that whenever we lose balance, we can stop to reflect, and consciously re-join the road to self-care.
What do we mean when we say well-being? For a long time, I’d thought of well-being as merely the absence of illness. This vision, however valid is incomplete: human beings don’t only want to enjoy good health, but also want to develop their potential. Well-being is related to the level of satisfaction that we experience in our lives at an emotional level (feeling good) and at a cognitive level (positively evaluating our experiences).
How can we boost our well-being?
Take care of your mind:
- Meditate, train the brain to enhance its function, lower stress levels, and find serenity and calmness.
- Be grateful, exercise an appreciative look on who you are, what you have, and what you have already achieved.
- Be connected to the present moment and savour every experience as if it were your last.
- Choose enjoyable, harmonious, preferably natural stimuli (images, sounds, smells, flavors).
- Cultivate positive thoughts that bring us confidence and self-compassion.
Take care of your body:
- Do physical activities regularly.
- Get the right amount and quality of sleep.
- Eat natural and organic food.
Take care of your connections:
- Practice small acts of kindness.
- Explore new ways of using our strengths and put them to use in the service of others.
- Construct and maintain genuine, trusted social relationships.
As a social entrepreneur, we invite you to ask yourself a question proposed by Rumi every now and then: Do you visit yourself regularly?
