One of our favorite things when talking about self-care is helping reframe the topic for people. It is a topic that has been so twisted over recent years – to the point where it’s almost a luxury to engage in it.

As a result many activities that are actually necessary for us, have been labeled as selfish. This creates a struggle in our mind, we are forced to choose between pleasing society, or taking care of ourselves. Yuck.

We want to encourage you to consider the actual definition of self-care, and begin to challenge the myths you have heard around the topic. This is an important step in being able to engage in this necessary practice.

Self-care’s purpose is to work proactively to keep your cup full. This is crucial because life is going to throw you curve balls. When we are worn out, these catch us off guard and our reaction tends to be more extreme than it would be if we were rested and refueled.

As such, legitimate self-care takes practice, and is an ongoing task. Proper self-care should leave you feeling refreshed, accomplished, and rebalanced. Sometimes it isn’t always as glamorous as all bubble baths and golf outings. Sometimes self-care looks like carving out time to pay bills, setting a boundary with someone who increase your stress, or saying no to an opportunity that you don’t have energy for.

Efficient self-care provides benefits across physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, professional, financial, social & environmental domains. When you think about this, the potential for the benefits are extensive! We would challenge you to consider in which of these areas do you feel the biggest deficit?

Finally, the type & frequency of self-care you need changes. Many factors impact this need for change. Things such as seasons of life, the stress we are under, amount of time we have, even our age! Knowing how to gauge your self-care needs is a valuable tool to have!

What have you learned about your self-care needs recently?