Last Updated on December 12, 2023
Taking care of yourself is a task that people often take for granted. They either think they’re indestructible and completely ignore this aspect of their life, or they misinterpret taking care of themselves as overindulging their cravings.
What you really need is to find a way to be more mindful about your behavior. How do you protect yourself? How do you stay healthy and functional? How do you keep your wits in today’s hostile world?
Well, for all those who have been neglecting this part, here are some steps of precaution that you definitely need to start taking.
Cybersecurity precautions
Never in the past was there so much need for online safety. Today, however, if someone were to take hold of your cybersecurity and accounts, you would be in huge trouble. They could access your funds and your correspondences and even commit heinous crimes while pretending it’s you.
So, how do you protect yourself online?
First, you need to start making better passwords. They need to be unique, random, and different for each platform. You also need to change them regularly. While this may sound intimidating, you can always take the shortcut by using a password manager like those that Techopedia experts suggest.
Then, you need to start using antivirus and antimalware software on all your devices. A lot of people just install it on their computer, completely ignoring their phones and tablets. Don’t allow this to happen, especially since it only takes a few clicks.
Using a VPN can hide your IP address, but it can also help you access geo-restricted content. In other words, using it is a no-brainer (since there are decent free options out there) and a win-win scenario.
Ultimately, be very careful when using networks and devices that are not your own. Keyloggers are a serious threat, and accessing your account from someone’s phone may not be as simple as you think.
Taking care of your health and hygiene
While you’re young, it will sometimes seem like you’re indestructible. You’ll see aging as something that happens to other people, but it’s just one of those things that, somewhere deep inside, you delusionally believe could never happen to you. As you grow older, you’ll see this fallacy for what it is; however, the effects will be far less severe if you take care of yourself in time.
Proper hygiene is more important than you think and can save you from many health issues. Most importantly, it takes you a couple of seconds to make a massive difference every time.
If you want to care for your hair and skin, now’s the time to start. The sooner you start, the better since you shorten the cumulative duration of the damage to your skin.
Safety guidelines are there for a reason. Regardless if you’re at work, driving a car, or riding a bike. A helmet, a safety harness, and a seatbelt are there to protect you in the worst scenario (which is not even that unrealistic).
Lastly, don’t wait for the symptoms to go for a regular checkup. Visit your physician and do a full body checkup regularly. Even some of the worst diseases are treatable if discovered early.
Increasing interest in financial security
Taking care of your finances and financial security is incredibly important. Sure, money may not be the most important thing in the world, but it does affect your options, quality of life, and even your ability to function in the modern world.
You must start by ensuring your accounts are safe from malicious third parties. So, occasionally, you need to go through your transactions (you can usually do this via an app, and it will only take you seconds) to see if anyone else is using your accounts. The worst part is that it won’t always be a thief, and that’s the problem. Sometimes, people you trust enough to use your cards and accounts can prove reckless (or less trustworthy than you thought). This, too, is worth keeping an eye out for.
Then, you also need to ensure that your accounts are safe from you. What do we mean by that? Sometimes, your spending habits will get out of hand without you even being aware of it. This is something you should definitely look out for from time to time.
Then, there’s the issue of being prepared for a financial emergency. Do you always have a savings account, an emergency account, or some cash at hand? Keep in mind that you won’t always have access to the ATM, and while it’s true that payment services are reliable, most of the time, you still want to have some cash in hand.
Also, keeping your credit score high or knowing who you would borrow money from in the case of an emergency can put your mind at ease. Speaking of putting your mind at ease…
Mental wellbeing
Taking care of your mental well-being is not just important on mental well-being days or months. This is something that’s a top priority and something you need to focus on every single day. Still, how do you take care of your mental well-being?
A lot of people are quick to discard the risk of burnout; however, it can happen to anyone. The biggest problem here is that burnout doesn’t happen instantaneously, which is why it’s sometimes that hard to notice it. You’ll just gradually be more and more worn out, have trouble focusing, and feel more and more anxious.
You also want to find your exhaust vent. Sure, most guides will suggest something like practicing mindfulness, meditating, or yoga, but what if what relaxes you are paintball, extreme sports, and hard sparring? What about video games? You need to find what works best for you and find a way to fit it into your schedule.
Lastly, spend a bit of your hard-earned money on yourself. Remember why you’re working so much and why it’s all worth it. This is one of the simplest hacks to get some of your motivation back.
Career advancement and job hunting
Just because you’re satisfied in your current workplace doesn’t mean things will remain so for good. Eventually, it might be time to move on, and if you wait to get fired until you start looking for a new job, you might end up quite disappointed with this state of affairs.
You don’t even have to find a better job; sometimes, it’s just enough to see what’s on the market. You may find that your current employment is far above the industry average, or you may see that the industry rates for your position have gone up and that it’s time you asked for a raise.
The most important part to remember is that there’s no overextension on your part. After all, you’re probably already using platforms like LinkedIn, Upwork, and JobRack, which means that all it takes is a bit of browsing.
Also, it’s not like you’re supposed to commute to take these interviews in person. It literally costs you nothing to apply and see what the demand’s out for, as well as get a reality check of how hireable you are. You can always turn down the offer, and if the offer is too good to refuse, you can make a lucrative switch.
Always be on the lookout for something better.
At the end of the day, you need to stop overestimating yourself and start taking precautionary steps, even when you feel you don’t need it. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer, and this is the only way to stay out of its grasp.
