Self care is said to be any activity that we consciously do to take care of our emotional, physical, mental and spiritual well-being. In theory, it may sound simple, but we, unfortunately, overlook it—far too often.
Self care is about listening to yourself, your feelings, your body, and your mind.
But if you have a hard time actually believing that, then you probably lack the deserving or worthiness of taking time to care for yourself. Self-care isn’t selfish, and it’s certainly something we all deserve. Truly, we’re only as good to others as we are to ourselves.
Self care is about fulfilling your needs.
If you feel the need to eat nutritious food, or take a rest, spend time with close friends or family, or time alone, then do it! Start by finding out what you need at this moment and honor it. If you have a tendency to put others before yourself, start by investing time alone to find out what it is that you really need for yourself without any influence from anyone or anything else. Just focus on you and your inner self.
Self care is about creating boundaries.
You need to protect yourself, your energy, your time, your self-worth. You can create healthy boundaries from people, places, things, and ideas that are toxic and not good for you mentally, physically, spiritually, or emotionally.
Self care is about experiencing joy.
Give yourself permission to find more joy. The activities that offer us real joy are to be done often because it’s what makes a day special. It’s laughing at funny videos. It’s exchanging texts with your group chat. It’s laughing at yourself when you make a silly mistake instead of beating yourself up about it.
Self care is about you and your expression.
Your expression comes from the understanding that self-care is something that refuels us, rather than takes from us. This will look different for everyone, and there is no right or wrong way of doing self-care because it’s personal.
Self care is a lifestyle.
Practicing self-care can be difficult because it comes down to doing what’s really good for you every day and all through your life. It can be a few minutes a day and grow into a full day of self-care.
