What activity(s)brings you the most reprieve from your everyday life? Whatever those may be is what I define as your self-care. The word might be slightly trendy right now but that does not diminish its necessity.
We are living in such a fast paced, driven society and this in itself can be a great thing. We are achieving more, becoming more and all the while we are loosing focus on what is essential to a successful life overall…….. Our sanity!
Most of us juggle a plethora of “hats” so to speak. We are employees, spouses, parents, sisters, brothers, friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teammate, entrepreneurs, the “taxi” for our kids, the “chef” of the household, the “gardener” the “maid”. In reality I could go on forever with this list, but you get the idea.
Do we ever take into consideration our most important hat “ourselves”? Allow me to expand on this idea. We become so immersed in being a better version of ourselves by becoming over achievers with all the hats we wear. We become the best employee, the best and most healthy cook for your family ,we strive to be the best friend a person could ask for and so on and so forth. Where then do we leave time for ourselves, our sanity, our self-care? Many times this idea goes to wayside because there simply are not enough hours in a day.
How then does one overcome these pressures that we put on ourselves that society only seems to perpetuate? We sit down and have an honest conversation with ourselves. What do I love, what do I do to ground myself, how do I allow peace to flow in after a hectic day, week or month? These are things that most of us don’t give enough thought to. Because in some circles self-care is considered selfish. I am ready to debunk that ridiculous notion!
In my experience the more self-care you practice the more useful you are to the rest of us. We then get the best, most rested, refreshed and amazing version of you. My self-care is a variety of things. I workout daily, this helps keep me active, in shape and sane. I also love to pray and meditate, both of these things bring me peace and allow me to let go of negative energy and bring in the light.
In the past I used reading and getting a massage as part of my self-care, and I plan to reintegrate these. They both bring me all the important ingredients of self-care. When you are chosing your self -care regimen make sure the ingredients are what is needed to keep you rejuvenated and nourished. The most important of these are, is it stressless, is it something I love, are my intention purely for my own growth, will it leave me happy and refreshed?
Last is vacations, they are huge on my list of self-care. They are only last because I can not practice this self-care on a daily basis like the others, although I would love to! I love the beach, the sun, and we can’t leave out my Disney vacations. I was recently asked by someone why I chose the same vacations over and over. In reality, I do chose the same vacations. I chose different beach locations or I take my family to Disney World or Disney Land. The simple answer is, this is what I enjoy. These trips never fail to give me and my family a surplus dose of awesome self-care.
What I chose for self-care may not be what you chose, and that is okay. The point is that you are chosing. You are chosing to put yourself first so that you are the best version of yourself for all the other hats you wear. Pay attention to how often your feeling stressed, overwhelmed, over extended and just plain grumpy. We all have these moments but if you are experiencing them in abundance you are likely not spending enough if any time on self-care.
The goal is to make self-care a part of your routine. Not something we desperately fish for when we are at the end of our rope. The goal is not to choose self-care in lieu of something else. Many times people think if they spend time on themselves they are taking away time from growing their success or from another category of “hats” in their lives. If this is you remind yourself that the best version of you is achieved when you time to care for yourself!
If you or someone you know is stuck in the rut of life and in need of someone to help navigate your way into a healthier existence feel free to contact me. Beach Therapies contact information can be found on our website. I would be happy to walk along side you and help you achieve and surpass your goals.
