Self Care 2.0, Make Yourself a Priority

Sometimes we experience small moments that seem to change everything in an instant.

I was speaking at a gathering of philanthropic women and I posed the question, "What are the ways you take care of yourself?"  There was a quiet pause until one person said, "I really don't know".  Here was a group of women who were accomplished and devoted to doing good in their community, in other words "adept at doing for others", but the idea of taking care of themselves hadn't been given a lot of consideration.

There isn't anything strange about that group of women.   It seems people in general are not oriented toward the idea of "self-care" or, probably it is more accurate to say, they are often only oriented to certain aspects of self-care such as eating healthy or exercising and that definitely matters.  One thing for sure, no one wants to be considered selfish or self-centered.  But self-care is anything but selfish or self centered.  Taking steps to keep our body healthy and carrying an attitude that leads us to meet our emotional needs is what will free us up to be available to others.

Self-care touches every area of our lives because, in broad terms, it is how we relate to ourselves.  When we can be our own ally, our own source of love and kindness, then we discover that we can work through whatever comes our way.  True self-care goes deeper than eating our veggies and going for a run.  Self-care is the foundation from which we operate.  It is how we interact with ourselves that will make the difference both in our experience and in our success with doing what we value most.

adapted photo courtesy of Aleska D at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What does self-care mean to you?

There are endless ways to take care of ourselves.  We each have our own ways.  However, just like the women in the group I was talking to, these ways are often out of our awareness.  We can take our self-care to the next level by committing to making ourselves a priority.  We can make sure our needs are taken care of.  If it is between sweeping the floor or relaxing with a book for a few minutes...the floor can wait.  Our worth or value as a human comes from within, simply because we are here on Earth.  Our worth, our goodness can only become stable when we give it to ourselves rather than looking for it from the approval of others or in the eyes of society.

May you be well.