Can Self-Care Really Make a Difference?

I attended a talk on self-care that was full of great information and wellness tips, and just hearing it made me want to indulge in it.

And immediately it begins… why do we call it “indulging”? It implies that it’s an option, the whipped cream on top, something decadent.

“Indulging” has its own world of meaning behind it depending on who is using that language. For me, “indulging” immediately confers a feeling of something I shouldn’t do because it isn’t good for me but it’s pleasing while I’m doing it.  

Isn’t that the exact opposite of “self-care”? And yet, there it is, the two words in the same sentence.

I looked further at what other notions I have, and I’ve seen in others I coach, my friends – pretty much everywhere – about “self-care”.

“Self-care” is something that comes after I’ve earned it – once I get all the other stuff done, or with the leftover time in my schedule, or maybe a little bit on a weekend after a week of work, or as a reward for working hard.

Does this sound familiar?

And, as I say this, how many of you have had some similar thought at some point in the past – it’s not a NEW thought, is it?

Because it’s the default thought (it’s there without us trying to think about it) we don’t take the time to challenge it. It’s right there, so we don’t even notice that there’s anything else available!

And yet…

Self-care is like fueling up the car. We fill up to GET READY for a journey, not after we arrived. It’s our preparation – said another way, it’s energy, it’s a source of power for us to take on what we want, to cause things in our life.

What might it look like if we put that care up front?

If we did, I assert we would have more options available to us - more energy, more places to look - than we do without taking that time for ourselves.

To change the default way it’s going, we start by noticing, and then make choices.

Here’s a simple one I invite… today, stop what you are doing for 5-15 minutes and do something that would be on your “self-care” list. Go for a walk. Do some deep breathing. Drink a couple of glasses of water and visualize the water coursing through your body. Turn on music and sing and dance to a favorite song. Listen and watch the birds. Take a “power nap”. You choose what would nourish your energy through a simple act. It doesn’t have to be the BEST thing, or the RIGHT thing – doing anything will produce a shift.

Let me know how it makes you feel. I’d love to hear about it!

What else do you “already know”, and yet there are things you still don’t have that you want? Call me and find out more!