Self Care isn’t Selfish
Instagram told me that self care was about doing face masks and taking baths. And for the longest time, I thought doing those things would fix my self-esteem, confidence and overall happiness. SPOILER – they did not. Sure, self care routines can include a spa moment, but in my cute little 33 years of life, I’ve learned that self care goes beyond what we see on the surface. Self care allows us to show up for others, because we have taken the time to show up for ourselves.
What is Self Care?
While it looks different for everyone, there are seven basic health pillars that live under the sweeping umbrella of self care:
- mental
- physical
- social
- environmental
- emotional
- spiritual
- recreational
It’s probably easiest to focus on the physical aspect of self care as it feels the most obvious. It’s literally what people see when they look at you. However, learning to embrace all aspects helps to create a sustainable, holistic approach to caring for yourself.
Why is Self Care Important?
I sort of hate the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” but it’s true. I find that it’s much harder for me to be fully present or even genuinely happy for others when I’m not taking care of myself. I become judgemental, impatient and downright cranky. It feels like I have no capacity to take on the news and updates of others – because I don’t.
When I haven’t allowed myself space to reflect, workout, read, sit in silence or even just take an “everything” shower, I can’t operate at my full capacity. I’m not able to live up to my potential because I haven’t prioritized anything that will help me get there.
Self care is important because it allows you to make space for parts of yourself that often get silenced in our fast paced world.
How to Create a Self Care Plan
Making time is the hardest part. The first step in creating a self care plan is deciding to commit to one or two small acts and deciding when to do them. These plans change over time (and they should!), but don’t feel like you have to overhaul your entire life.
Create sustainable habits
Habit stacking has been really helpful for me in terms of implementing basic self care. The idea is you pair a new habit with an existing habit rather than a time or location. For example, I wanted to get better at taking all of my daily meds and supplements first thing in the morning. One habit I already have is making coffee first thing, obviously.
So, in order to achieve my goal of taking all of my pills first thing, I now take them while my coffee is brewing with a full glass of water. Two birds, one stone. Very low lift – WINNING.
Remove potential barriers
Identify what’s keeping you from sticking with a habit and get rid of it. Let’s keep going with my morning meds example. One thing that really irritated me was opening all the bottles and counting out the doses. So, I would skip doses if I was running late or just lazy.
Enter this minimalist pill organizer. Every Sunday afternoon, I take 5 minutes to count out the daily doses and fill each day of the week. It’s something my future self always appreciates and makes my morning routine a bit easier to maintain.
make small changes for a big impact
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
If self care looks like catching up on emails or admin work, block time in your week to get it done. If it looks like putting on a face mask (I love this Follain face mask, if you’re curious) and using a facial steamer, plan for one evening during the week. Need to get out for a run? Carve out time to do so, even if that means getting up earlier than usual.
Remember, nothing changes if nothing changes.
