Why Self-Care Isn’t Selfish
Self-care is super trendy right now and for good reason. Our society is moving faster and demanding more of us every day. We’re asked to produce more with fewer resources and we are running on empty. We have very little to give anyone, and even less to give to ourselves.
So, what exactly is self-care? Self-care is anything you do strictly for your own physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. It’s being kind to yourself and taking care of your own energy first. It’s setting up boundaries, so that everyone knows your needs are important, too. And most importantly, it simply makes you feel good!
Number one on my self-care list is taking a nap. I do that as often as I can. I also like to journal, work out, do yoga, meditate, and be outside as much as possible. I have a cabinet full of herbs that my herbalist suggested, which helps my body combat stress and keeps me healthy. And as often as possible, I get bodywork done, whether that’s deep tissue massage, a head massage when I get my hair cut, or a foot massage when I get a pedicure.
Practice Self-Care
Self-care can be anything that makes you feel relaxed, rested, and happy. If you’re not sure what to do, here are a few more examples that might get your self-care juices flowing.
- Put on that music (even if it’s music you don’t want anyone to know that you like) and dance and sing to your heart’s content!
- Take a long hot bath in the middle of the day.
- Sit outside in the morning sun and listen to yourself breathe.
- Go buy the most decadent chocolate bar you can find and savor every square.
- Get a relaxing Swedish massage.
- Take your dog to the park and let his happiness rub off on you.
- Say no to something you don’t want to do.
When Self-Care Is Most Important
I’m willing to bet that you’ll need self-care daily, however, there are some tell-tale signs that you REALLY need some time for yourself, like:
- When you’re walking around the house looking for your phone…that’s already in your hand.
- When you feel like you’re the ball in a pinball machine.
- When just one more request will make you break down in tears.
- When you snap at that lady who’s walking too slow in the grocery store.
- When you wake up exhausted after eight hours of sleep.
I like making to-do lists because I get overwhelmed by all the things I have to do in a day. As I was writing my list the other day, I decided to include a couple of self-care items, and because if they’re on my list, I have to do them, right? I noticed something interesting as I was writing. Most of the items were do this, do that, go here, go there, but when I got to the self-care items, the verbs changed. I wrote take a nap. Get a massage. Take a half hour walk. The items on my list that were just for me involved taking and receiving rather than doing and giving.
As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Self-care is not selfish. It’s okay to take and receive. In fact, it’s vital to your well-being and the health of our society. So, take that yoga or Pilates class. Get that massage. Go to your herbalist and have her make a tea blend, just for you.
Take some time for yourself every day, so that you never have to try to pour from an empty cup!
