Self-care as defined by Google:
- the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health.
- the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.
We hear alot about self care these days. Articles written to explain it’s importance. Lists of self care ideas. Routines designed to insure daily chunks of time devoted to self care. What I noticed is that everyone is only talking about the pleasant side of taking care of yourself. But that’s not quite a complete picture is it?
Self care can sometimes mean taking an entire day off your responsibilities. Every Saturday I consider myself productive if I wash the dishes after feeding my family. Besides the very basics of keeping the house running I take Saturday off entirely.
Every Sunday I reset for the rest of the week. Prep food, clean the house, empty the bathroom trash, do all the laundry and set up my to-do lists for the following week. It may not appear so at first but both days are of equal importance to my overall well being.
Taking care of yourself can look like both rest and work. It means knowing when to take a break to be successful in work, and when to put in the work to properly rest later.
The unpleasant part of self care could be better described as self discipline. Ew. I know. But it’s really a huge part of overall well being. Caring for yourself means knowing how much sleep you need and what kinds of foods properly fuel your body. Ensuring you provide both everything you need to succeed and also limiting anything that might prevent it.
It means being hard on yourself when necessary and forgiving when needed. So next time you make a Self Care Spread in your bullet journal remind yourself to include get up before the kids next to weekly mani/pedi’s.
