Okay so you heard about this self-care thing and you want to find out what self-care really is, right?
Well, you are in the right place because I am going to explain it from top to bottom!
In this article you will learn:
- What is self-care, really?
- What isn’t self-care?
- Why is self-care important?
- Benefits of self-care.
- Why do you fail at self-care?
- How to engage in self-care?
- Tips and ideas to start practicing self-care.
What is Self-Care Really?
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Everywhere that you look to try and figure out what self-care really is.
You see examples or ideas that tell you to take a bath, use a bath bomb, go for a run, dance, play a game, exercise, right?
And it’s so frustrating!
Because you’re not looking for examples, tips, or ideas on how to practice self-care, you are looking for what self-care really is, right?
Well, here you go.
Self-care is anything you do to take care of yourself.
It is anything that helps you:
- Emotionally
- Psychologically
- Financially
- Professionally
- Spiritually
- Socially
- Physically
- Environmentally
- Personally
Self care is taking the time out of your busy life to stop and care for yourself.
You know kinda how you care for everyone else but yourself, right?
Self-care is a simple concept, but it is hard in theory.
Because as moms, it is something that is easily overlooked.
We are worried about our kids, our careers, our spouses, our friends, heck even the stranger who says hello every morning.
We worry so much and do everything for everyone else but we often forget about ourselves.
And guess what?
We continue to be stressed and overwhelmed.
We continue to live our lives on rinse and repeat.
Well, that is all about to change!
Because self-care is all about knowing when your resources are low.
It is the one simple habit you need to improve your life right now!
Not more money.
Not another degree!
Not a bigger house!
You need self-care!
Self-care teaches about how to replenish your resources, instead of letting them all drain away.
Practicing self-care makes sure you never run low on energy because you will always make time to care for you.
Self-Care Isn’t Always Good
So don’t be fooled!
There are things that do feel good but aren’t good self-care ideas.
Things such as drugs, alcohol, overeating, and risk-taking are activities that are self-destructive.
These types of activities can only regulate challenging emotions for a temporary amount of time. It doesn’t help you to deal with them as self-care does.
So don’t get caught up and think you’re taking care of yourself when you’re actually destroying yourself.
What Self-Care Isn’t?
Okay, so now you know exactly what self-care is, so now you need to know what self-care isn’t.
Self-care isn’t doing something you don’t like doing or doing something you have to force yourself to do.
Self-care is something that feels good, improves your spirits, and makes you happy.
In a nutshell, it is something that refuels you.
Self-care isn’t selfish.
When practicing self-care, you are doing something that restores you so you have enough energy and awareness to continue to care for all of your responsibilities and tasks.
Self-care is about knowing what you need to take care of yourself, so in turn, you can take care of others.
Because remember you can’t pour from an empty cup, right?
Why is Self-Care is Important
Life is extremely busy.
No longer do we have a 9-5.
We pretty much work a job that can be done anywhere, anytime, or more like all the time.
And that doesn’t even count your personal life right?
You also have to take care of your family, be social, and on top of that find time to take care of yourself.
Doing all of this in such a short amount of time, makes having work-life balance nearly impossible.
Because of all you need to do, self-care seems impossible!
In fact, self-care is last on your list!
But it shouldn’t be!
Practicing self-care is extremely important!
Practicing self-care allows you to be able to continue to live and take care of your very full, rich, lives.
It helps you maintain a healthy relationship with yourself.
Self-care helps you to be the best version of yourself so that you can do your best for others.
When you are happy and fulfilled, so is everyone else.
Your joy will become their joy.
Your good energy and great vibes will rub off on them.
Self-care is not selfish.
Remember if you don’t take care of yourself then you surely can’t take care of anyone else.
What are the Different Types of Self Care
FYI, there is no right or wrong way to practice self-care.
It’s all about what makes you happy and fills your cup.
But, you do have to know that there are 9 different types of self-care.
Learning the different types of self-care will help you to understand what self-care really is, and what activities you need to refuel yourself based on the emotions you are feeling at that time.
The 9 Different Types of Self-Care Are:
Emotional Self Care
Emotional self-care means identifying what exactly you’re feeling and moving forward in a way that identifies with those emotions.
Professional Self Care
This is self-care that helps you to have a healthy work-life balance so you can reduce the stress that deals with your career.
Spiritual Self Care
This self-care deals with connecting with a higher power and purpose for your life.
Environmental Self Care
This type of self-care deals with minimizing waste, decluttering your home, and minimizing your technology time to be able to connect with nature.
Financial Self Care
Financial Self Care is all about having a great money mindset and being responsible with your money.
Physical Self Care
Physical self-care involves the body. It encompasses aspects of your life such as health, nutrition, and sleep
Social Self Care
Social self-care is all about relationships.
It encompasses having a group of friends, a spouse, and a family, that is nurturing.
It is all about having people you can trust and turn to when needed.
Psychological Self Care
Psychological self-care is all about learning new things and applying those concepts to your life.
Personal Self Care
Personal self-care is all about having a hobby as well as self-love and knowing your true self.
I bet you thought self-care just meant something like binging on Netflix, or reading a book or going out with your friends.
Nope, it means so much more than that!
And the benefits of self-care are astronomical!
What are the Benefits of Self Care
So this is the part that you need to listen up too!
I mean, if there were no benefits to self-care and it has no positive impact on your life, then you’re not going to want to make time for it, right?
So let’s talk about some of the things that practicing self-care will bring to you.
Let’s get into how one habit can completely improve your life!
Some of the top benefits of self-care are:
- Increases productivity and motivation
- Helps foster a healthy relationship with yourself
- Fights fatigue and illness
- Helps you have more to give to others
- It improves your physical and emotional health
- Brings balance
- Helps bring down your stress
- Improves your relationships with others
- Helps you to have a clean and organized home
- Plus, so much more!
Now if that isn’t enough to make you want to practice self-care, then I don’t know what is!
How Do You Practice Self-Care?
Now you know some of what self-care can do for you, you’re probably wondering how exactly can you practice self-care, right?
Well, here’s how.
Practicing self-care takes some self-identifying.
You have to identify what emotions you are feeling so you can identify what type of self-care you need.
Based on the type you identify with, you can do different activities to help you be able to hone those emotions and recharge yourself.
For example, let’s say you are feeling beat down at work.
You’re always exhausted and mentally drained.
You can’t seem to figure out how to have work-life balance.
Based on these feelings, you can tell that you need to practice some professional self-care.
Some of the things you can do are negotiate your needs, eat a well-balanced lunch at work, or learn how to delegate tasks.
Practicing self-care is really not as hard as it seems.
So, why is it that people fail at it?
The Biggest Self Care Mistakes People Make
So you’ve probably tried self-care before, but it didn’t do anything for you, right?
You pretty much felt the same.
You didn’t feel better.
You didn’t feel worse
You just felt the same, which sucked.
Well, there are a few mistakes that you may have made while trying to practice self-care.
Not One Size Fits All
When you scroll Instagram and check out #selfcare, you see all of these beautiful luxurious photos.
It makes it seem that self-care is as simple as painting your nails or taking a bath.
Sometimes it is that simple and most of the time it’s not.
Sure, there are a lot of lists that tell you different activities that you should do.
In fact, I will include a few in this post, but you have to remember that they are suggestions, not facts.
No one knows you better than YOU.
You have to find out what suits you.
What activities recharge you and make you feel whole?
For example, if you are an introvert, it could be things such as tending a garden or reading a book.
If you are an extrovert, it could be things like dancing, or attending a concert.
Whatever it may be just know that because someone didn’t suggest it doesn’t mean that it isn’t self-care.
Self care is not one size fits all.
What Suzi down the street does for self care, may not work for you.
Self care is all about you and your needs.
It’s about what makes you feel great.
Takes Time
Finding out what works for you is not simple.
You can’t see an activity on a list, try it once, and because it didn’t work, you let it go.
You have to take into consideration that maybe it didn’t work because it was the wrong activity for you.
Self-care takes trial and error.
You will need different self-care activities for how you are feeling.
So pick a few, try a few, write down what works for that emotion, so you can start building your self-care tool kit.
Need to Prioritize
You know you need self-care, yet, you haven’t started it or truly committed to it, have you?
Why is that?
It’s because, once again, you are putting your needs last.
You are continuing to pour from a cup that is almost empty and not giving yourself what you need.
This is horrible and very inconsiderate of you.
I’m not trying to be hard on you, but if you keep giving your all to everyone else, then you have nothing to give yourself.
This will lead to a breakdown!
Who wants that?
Not me and I know that you don’t want that either!
To avoid this, you have to start prioritizing your self-care.
You have to stop running on E.
Think of all the stuff you do now.
Imagine how much more you can do if you have a full tank?
Ridiculous, right?
Self-care Isn’t Always Reactive
This is a biggie!
Many people think that self-care needs to be reactive when in all actuality, it does not!
In fact, if you are reacting with self-care, then you are practicing it too late.
Self-care is meant to be part of a routine, a habit to help keep you full, not to fill you back up completely.
Although it can do that too.
It’s about creating supportive foundations for your life.
This means that self-care isn’t always luxurious.
It can be about making sure your clothes are clean, the garbage is taken out, you are eating healthy nourishing meals, you are working out, etc.
Just know that self-care can take on a lot of different activities.
Not just the stuff that social media shows you.
Tips or Ideas to Self-Care
You know all about what self-care really is, what self-care isn’t, why is it important, different types of self-care, benefits of self-care, how to practice self-care, and the mistakes people make when they practice self-care, so it would only be right if I gave you tips or ideas that you can use to practice self-care right?
Well, here they are.
I even broke them down according to the 8 different types of self-care.
Professional Self Care
If you are looking to practices professional self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Nourishing lunch
- Prioritizing work and life
- Career coaching
- Setting professional boundaries
Spiritual Self Care
If you are looking to practices spiritual self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Walking in nature
- Going on a retreat
Environmental Self Care
If you are looking to practices environmental self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Recycling
- Decluttering
- Organizing
- Making sure your environment is clean and safe
Financial Self Care
If you are looking to practices financial self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Paying your bills on time
- Knowing your expenses
- Save money wisely
- Invest money wisely
Physical Self Care
If you are looking to practices physical self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Learn a new dance routine
- Relax in a bath
- Work out
- Get enough sleep
Social Self Care
If you are looking to practices social self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Honor your commitments
- Ask for help
- Meet new people
- Go out with friends or family
Psychological Self Care
If you are looking to practices psychological self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Gratitude
- Reading a book
- Practicing being mindful
- Digital detox
Emotional Self Care
If you are looking to practices emotional self-care, here are a few ideas:
- Saying no
- Delegating
- Self-love
- Boundaries
The Last Thing You Need To Know About What Self Care Really Is
I broke down everything you need to know about self-care and how you can apply it.
The only thing, yet the biggest thing you need to do, is to take in everything that I said…and actually do it!
Do not put your needs on the backburner.
Do not keep continuing to pour from an empty cup.
Take time out and take care of yourself like you do others.
I promise that if you implement self-care into your life, you will completely improve your life!
Remember Love Always, and Spread Bliss,
Ree
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