Why You Should Prioritize Self-Care
Self-care isn’t easy and it isn’t something we should feel guilty about. So why do we treat it as an indulgence only to be done every once in a while when we have time? Worse yet, why does self-care not even make it on our priority list and instead fall back burner (if it lucky) to other activities?
For most of us, self-care comes when we are at the end of our ropes. We are overwhelmed, exhausted, and by god — something has to change. The problem? By the time you hit the bottom, you are completely tapped out. Practicing self-care isn’t just good for you in the moment, it is good for helping you build your resiliency and adaptability for future events.
Resiliency and adaptability are behaviors that can serve you well in the face of change. Given how much change 2020 has brought, we could all use a little extra help. Resiliency is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and adaptability is the ability to adjust to new situations.
Self-care is WAY more than beauty treatments
Self-care can include beauty treatments and spa days, but it is is so much more than that. Self-care involves taking care of yourself on several dimensions: mentally, physically, emotionally, personally, professionally, and spiritually. It is having the ability to step back and reground yourself when you feel that you are lost, overwhelmed or feeling out of sorts.
Self-care isn’t selfish
For people-pleasers like me, it is very easy to feel guilty and selfish about practicing self-care because it feels like it is focused on just you. The reality is that self-care is as much a pay-it-forward endeavor as it is a personal commitment. When you are the best version of yourself, you are rested, patient, present, and focused (to name a few). When you are neglecting your self-care, you are not able to show up for yourself, let alone others. You are impatient with your family and friends, easily overwhelmed at work, and typically at the end of your rope.
Self-care is proactive, not reactive
Self-care puts you in the driver’s seat rather than being dragged around at the whim of any situation or emotions that come at you. Because you are always in a state of upheaval in one dimension or another, you never feel that you are in control.
Self-care isn’t for stolen moments
Self-care takes constant attention to make sure that you are showing up for yourself first and foremost. It requires that you are routinely checking in with yourself to see where you are at in each of the dimensions and committing to making changes to behaviors and activities that don’t serve you well.
Self-care takes strength
You have to be your own advocate. You have to be able to say “no” to opportunities that don’t align with your values and goals. You have to be able to recognize that a walk or workout would serve you much better than binge-watching some shows. You have to be able to ask for help. You have to recognize behaviors that aren’t serving you well. You have to commit to showing up for yourself first and foremost. In a world that values always being busy and doing more, more, more self-care can feel very counter-culture.
Self-care isn’t an outcome, it’s a journey
While I am still not great at self-care, I have gotten better. In addition to recognizing what self-care is and really does for me, I am beginning to feel less guilty about the boundaries that I am creating and the time I take to practice self-care. I still have weeks (and typically not just one) where I am in all-out, master-the-universe mode saying yes to everything but myself but I am quicker to get off that train.
I am also better at doing daily things that help me re-ground. I get exercise, I eat healthy foods, I take time to work on my goals (hello writing!), I meditate, and I journal to stay connected with myself. Do I always accomplish all of these things? No, but I also recognize that self-care involves acting with compassion towards ourselves and if I am doing these things at least 80% of the time, I am way better off than where I was before.
Over the next few days we will run through the different dimensions of self-care focusing on both the big and small of what you can do to build self-care practices that increase your well-being, resiliency and adaptability.
If you’re new here…
We are on a journey to helping you Become the CEO of You so that you can become the best version of yourself. Over the course of the month, we’ll cover knowing yourself, creating goals, adopting mindsets, embracing habits, and practicing self-care. You can find all the posts in our publication Living to Learn. You can also find my random musings on my personal page here.
