by Tari Faris, @FarisTari
We have done it. We have reached the end of this self-care series. We have established that self-care for writers is a must if we want to continue to be able to write not just now but well into the future. Because as we pour out onto the page, we need to make sure we are being poured into body, mind, and soul.
When I am speaking of self-care, it is important to establish I am not speaking of escapes, indulgences, or pleasure seeking. There is nothing wrong with such things in the right time or place, but self-care isn’t kick back and relax time. Self-care is active, work, and it is intentional.
There are many aspects of self-care for an author but this year, I am going to focus on these five:
- Physical Self-care
- Emotional Self-care
- Psychological Self-care
- Spiritual Self-care
- Professional Self-care
So far we have covered physical Self-care, emotional self-care, and psychological Self-care. If you haven’t read those I encourage you to go back and do so.
Today, I am digging into Spiritual Self-care and Professional Self-care.
SPIRITUAL SELF-CARE
Spiritual Self-Care is probably the most misunderstood of all self-care branches. According to the world, spiritual self-care is developing spiritual wellness means working toward identifying what you believe in and how well those beliefs can give you inner strength through even the roughest times in life.
Basically, if you believe it will happen idea. But as Christians we don’t believe things happen because of the power of the belief, but by the power of the One we believe in.
But although I believe this self care some from time with God in our faith, let’s hone that a bit further.
WAYS TO DO SPIRITUAL SELF-CARE
Question the purpose of your existence – Who does the Bible say I am?
Connect to what is meaningful – what are your core values and are you living according to them? If this is a new concept to you, consider our planner at mybrilliantwritingplanner.com this concepts has changed my life.
Test your limits – how does God want to take you deeper? Further up, further in.
Meditation – Meditate on God’s word and in prayer.
At the end of the day, ask yourself:
- What gave me life today? What drained me today? You can’t always avoid what drained you but you can start thinking about how better to spend your time when you have a choice.
- What am I most thankful for? What am I least thankful for?
- How did I honor God today?
I know that is a lot to process but be are going to just jump forward to professional self-care.
PROFESSIONAL SELF-CARE
You may wonder what professional self-care is because it is the least talked about. Professional self-care focuses basically on how to be the best writer specifically. The reason we put it last isn’t because it is most important but because we will tap into all we have learned to pull this one off. We will talk about input, balance, and output.
INPUT
There are three pieces to input. Body, mind, and soul. (see how they connect to the others)
Body – what can you do to give yourself more strength as a writer? Better nutrition, better chair, better exercise?
Mind – what classes are you pouring into yourself to make you a better writer? What authors are you reading? What conferences are you attending? Training is a part of caring for your writer self.
Soul – How are you connecting with God? Are you inviting him into your writing space? Where are you getting the truth from your books?
BALANCE
Back to the value-based planning. When we do this, we can have all our values laid out and know we are giving adequate time to each, so we don’t become a workaholic or the opposite never find time for your writing.
This is also a place where we can create achievable goals, understand the benefits, and keep the why of what we do in front of us. For example, if one of the whys I write is to pay for vacations with my family, I think about that on the days when I would rather do anything but writing.
OUTPUT
Recognize the output of your professional endeavors: produce fruit (spiritual, relational, books), recognize achievements, celebrate accomplishments, and evaluate failures.
All of this will help you see your professional work as important and something to be cared for.
So, there you go, the five basic areas of self-care. Which do you think you could most benefit from?
Leah Williams is back in the quaint town of Heritage, Michigan, and ready to try again to make her business a success. But blank slates are hard to come by, and a piece of her past is waiting for her there. Heir to the Heritage Fruits company, Jonathan Kensington is the guy who not only made Leah’s past difficult, he also seems determined to complicate her present as well.
Jon is trying to prove to the Heritage Fruits board that he, not his manipulative uncle, should be running the business. The board insists Jon find a new owner for the building that will house Leah’s business. To avoid forcing a buyout of Leah’s part of the building, Jon strikes a compromise with Leah, and the two go into business together. With her vision and his know-how, it might work. And Leah might realize he’s loved her since high school. If only he didn’t keep on shooting himself in the foot by boxing her out of important decisions.
Sparks fly in this romantic story of two people who must learn to trust both each other and the one who called them to this journey.
Available now for preorder! And visit linktr.ee/tarifaris to sign up for preorder rewards!
Tari Faris has been writing fiction for fifteen years but has been creating fiction in her head as long as she can remember. She is represented by Wendy Lawton at Books & Such Literary Management and is a member of ACFW and My Book Therapy. She was the 2017 Genesis winner, 2016 Genesis finalist, and 2014 Genesis finalist. In addition to her writing, she also works for My Book Therapy as a special project manager and writes for LearnHowToWriteANovel.com . When she is not writing or working, she spends time with her amazing husband and kids. In her free time, she loves coffee, rockhounding with her husband and kids, and distracting herself from housework. You can connect with her at www.tarifaris.com