When my world fell apart, practicing self-care changed everything for the better. For most of my life, I was one of the lucky ones – I never knew poverty or much loss, was neither diagnosed with a serious illness nor hooked on a substance.

Then, in my forties, it happened. With no warning at all, everything changed. My life as I had known it for decades was over. Poof. Gone. Pretty much overnight. The details are irrelevant, but what does matter is this: I thought I had lost it all, but in reality, through losing it all, I had the opportunity to find it all.

From Surviving To Thriving

I discovered that the only way to survive the unraveling of my life was to practice self-care. And then I recognized that, amazingly, self-care and self-love can propel us into not just surviving, but into thriving. In my darkest moments, I understood that the way to put one foot in front of the other was to start loving myself wholly and unconditionally.

And the first step to self-love was to let go of what others thought. When I started to care less about the rest of the world’s opinions, my life began to unfold in beautiful ways.

How To Practice Self-Care

Caring less about what the world thought of me, and more about what I thought of me, led to daily self-care rituals that span the spectrum from very basic to intensely thoughtful. Here are five self-care rituals that improved my life ten times over from the inside out:

Care Less

Every day, remind yourself that what matters most is what you think of yourself, not what other people think of you. Careless about what advertisements claim, what your neighbors are doing, what “successful” people are achieving, who your family thinks you ought to be, and what others are saying about you. Let go of all that noise.

Be Present

Bring yourself to the present moment over and over again throughout the day. Every so often during your waking hours, become highly in tune with your senses. Really notice how the moment looks, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes.

Give Thanks

Start and end your day with gratitude. Write a list of all the good people, objects, or situations in your life, no matter how small. The more you focus on the positive, the better you’ll feel and the more good you can attract into your life. (1)

Be Quiet

Spend time every day quieting your busy mind. Whether it’s through conscious breathing, meditation, yoga, or prayer, quietness connects us with our intuition and our highest self. It also has dozens of mental and physical health benefits. (2)

Know Your Values

Contemplate what’s most important to you and your life. Then, make a list of the people, goals, and morals that are most dear to you. Look at this list every day to remind you of what truly matters. Your list might include your children or parents, your health, your spiritual practice, or even values as simple as cleanliness. When you reread your list each day, it will help guide your thoughts and actions to be aligned with your highest self.

Reclaim Your Power

When we shift our attention away from what holds us back and towards our values and the present moment, we reclaim our power. And when we reclaim our power through self-care, life starts to unfold in amazing ways.

So, get out there and live your best life – just remember to care less about what other people think.