Self care isn’t a one time thing, but it can be a one-minute thing. (Your new one minute self care thing.)
Mental health professionals say doing quick self-care acts regularly can be a game-changer and I couldn’t agree more.
I use at least one of these daily to keep myself calm. However, they can be especially helpful for moments when I need to calm myself down. (The “I’m about to lose my shit” moments.)
This post will show you three quick and simple self care ideas to use in stressful moments.
What Self Care Ideas Can I Do Quickly and In the Moment?
I’ve tried just about every self care trick in the book.
I’m sharing the most powerful ones that work for me in the moment, quickly.
They are the fastest and least noticable techniques that you can pull off without anyone knowing. They help me stop the tears from flowing and make sure the angry voice doesn’t take over.
These are the three ideas I’ll show you:
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- Wiggle Your Toes (Direct Your Attention.)
- Drink Water (Pause andTrigger Deep Breathing.)
- Write it Down (Gain Clarity and Perspective.)
1. Wiggle Your Toes (Tell Your Attention Where to Go.)
I first came across the “wiggle your toes” technique during a positive intelligence training program created by Shirzad Chamine. (He has a book about it, too.)
The primary aim of the program was to uncover self-sabotaging patterns through unhealthy reactions and redirect focus to promote healthier responses.
Imagine this scenario: You’re in a meeting, and you sense discomfort or agitation creeping in. The familiar signs of panic start to surface—perhaps tears are welling up or your defense mechanisms are kicking in.
In that critical moment, you face a choice: let the stress escalate and risk overreacting, or take a mere minute to manage your emotions. You can redirect your attention elsewhere to halt the emotional buildup. Try wiggling your toes, paying close attention to the sensation and the action itself.
2. Drink Water (Pause and Breathe)
Imagine you’re in a tense meeting, stress bubbling up, and you definitely don’t want to broadcast it.
Quick move—grab your water bottle. Take a discreet drink, feeling that coolness slide down. It’s not just about the drink; it’s your undercover trick for keeping it cool and a natural pause to collect yourself.
Inhale with each drink, exhale the stress away. Your water becomes a silent ally, helping you navigate the storm without showing a single sign.
So, in the heat of the meeting, drink, breathe, and let your water be your secret weapon for staying collected.
Highlights:
- Shift your attention to the water instead of letting the emotions build up. This takes your attention away from honing in on the stressful reactions making them more intense.
- Drinking something forces you to take a short pause from the conversation. It conveniently takes away your ability to say anything. So you can stop yourself from saying something you’ll regret in the heat of the moment.)
- The act of drinking triggers deeper breathing automatically. So, if you’re all of a sudden breathing heavier, it won’t be ovbious because it’s a natural response after drinking.
3. Write it Down (See the Full Picture)
When I’m overwhelmed, I reach for pen and paper, creating a kind of spider map from my grade school days. I’ve since learned it’s called mind-mapping in the adult world.
I jot down every thought racing through my mind—tasks, problems, and stressors all make the list. It’s my way of clearing mental clutter by simply seeing it all in one place.
This approach gives me the full picture, making it easy to prioritize tasks and take action. Especially when I have several pressing projects, it helps me figure out how much time each one needs.
More often than not, I can breeze through the smaller tasks in under an hour, quickly trimming my to-do list from 20 items down to 10.
Conclusion
Incorporating these strategies into your routine is a simple yet powerful way to build resilience.
Try taking a pause for a drink of water in challenging moments, writing down whats on your mind to see the full picture, and even wiggling your toes to redirect attention.
These tools are easy to adopt, and the impact is remarkable.
Experiment with them, find what works for you, and embrace a more balanced and centered approach to life. Sip, breathe, wiggle, and map your way to enhanced resilience—one intentional step at a time.
