Happy New Year!

The ILC Communications’ team is ready to kick-off the new year and wishes you an amazing 2021. The first month of the year is always a mixture of excitement and hopes for new opportunities and a brighter future for all of us.

With everything happening, it is easy to forget to take care of yourself. How can we focus on ourselves when there is so much going on around us?

“Be kind to your body, gentle to your mind and patient with your heart”

At ILC Communications, we believe it does not have to be as difficult as it may seem. We put together some ways and quotes on how to be kinder to yourself in 2021.
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Take more time for yourself

“It is so important to take time for yourself and find clarity. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.” Diane Von Furstenberg

The demands of modern-day living can be overwhelming, when we set up our smart goals, we should remember that spending time alone regularly will support our activities towards achieving our goals and objectives. Taking some time out to relax is essential for your wellbeing, particularly your mental wellbeing. Making 'time for yourself' regularly can: reduce your stress levels, improve your concentration, and boost yourself-esteem.

Spending time on yourself can mean lots of things. You may simply want to have 20 minutes of silence or listen to your favourite music or short meditation recording. You may want to escape for a walk in the park or do some home exercise. Whatever you do, switch off your computer and phone and concentrate on the sights, smells, and sounds around you, rather than a to-do list and your next task.

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Lean into your healthy pleasures

“To be a better human for others, you need to take care of yourself first." Iwona Lebiedowicz

Taking a mental break and enjoying something that does not require intense intellectual focus gets us out of problem-solving mode and can also improve our ability to productively deal with stressors and help us engage more positively with other people, according to experts. Every day carve out some time for yourself and do something that brings you joy. You can draw, keep a journal, write short stories, play a musical instrument, or do anything else that you love to do.

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Buddha

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Learn to accept a compliment — even if it is from yourself

“People who love themselves, don’t hurt other people. The more we hate ourselves, the more we want others to suffer.” Dan Pearce

Even if it feels uncomfortable and insincere at first, practising it enough will allow the practice to become a natural habit and one that positively impacts many aspects of your life.

Acknowledge good work, because getting credit for your work gives your brain good feelings and helps you accomplish more. Experts say that the psychological impact of keeping a positive view of your accomplishments can decrease stress and encourage better habits.

The more you learn to acknowledge your accomplishments and your positive attributes, the more you will start to truly believe in them, embracing your strengths.  

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Turn your regrets into self-improvement

“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.” Roy T. Bennett

We can be under the impression that there is very little we can control, with rules and new restrictions, and there are things we must do differently and things we cannot do at all.

No surprise that right now we may feel uncomfortable or uneasy about “something” and that something may be a challenging situation, something we did or said, or someone has done, or something else.  Perhaps you think you failed at something and that something keeps coming back in your thoughts. Perhaps you look back and see an event in the past months that you consider a mistake or regret you did not get something that you really wanted.

Acknowledging the experience by slowing down and noticing your thoughts and sensations will help you to manage the situation. When you have negative thoughts, try to find the root of what brought it on. Ask yourself if you can deal with the issue at hand now or if it can wait until later. Then take your time to analyse that experience because suppressing our emotions can diminish our capacity for joy and potentially manifest as physical pain.

Analyse your regrets considering this as feedback or a learning experience, by asking yourself some questions:

What can I do better next time? Sometimes other people’s negativity is just that - nothing to do with you.

What can I learn from this situation? The good news is – you will learn from this - be kind to yourself for it happened to you – you will learn from it.

Is it going to make me smarter or stronger, or both?

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Schedule in advance your time to rest.

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” Ovid

Scheduling keeps you on track to accomplish your goals. Seta regular time to do your scheduling – at the start of every week or month, for example, and as you schedule your projects, meetings, time for family and friends, exercise, and annual holidays, you need to plan and schedule regular“time to rest”.

Scheduling is the art of planning your activities so that you can achieve your goals and priorities within the time you have available. Planning will help you understand what you can realistically achieve with your time and work steadily toward your personal and career goals.

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Be kind to one another.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain

A simple smile, a please or a thank you, a moment of silence to listen - there are many ways in which we can be kind to each other and ultimately, in being kind to others we learn the secret of being kind to ourselves.

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