Self-care is the act of caring for yourself. It is something that is often times pushed under the rug and along with not being talked about, isn't thought of. We typically don't think of self-care as being important or essential to our well-being until we are in a crisis and/or it is too late.
Before I had invested in learning about what self-care was or how it helps you physically and mentally, I figured that eating healthy and drinking water was enough to care for myself. I didn't imagine needing any more care. I thought that I was doing the right things to care for my body. I was, but I wasn't doing enough to care for my mental state.
The truth is, we all could use a little more care when it comes to taking care of ourselves. We could all be going the extra mile for ourselves, yet we often times choose not to. The most difficult part of engaging in acts of self-care is knowing where the line is drawn. To me, the line is drawn at what things I have to do to be alive and what things I want to do to live.
Before engaging in acts of self-care, I was scraping by every day doing the bare minimum when it came to caring for myself. I was lucky to drink a glass of water a day. It wasn't until I realized that I wanted to do more with my life than just be alive, that I began engaging in small acts of care for myself. One of the things I began to engage in on a regular basis was taking the time to go to sleep earlier — simply because I work hard and deserved it and that I would feel better if I did so. It was from here that stemmed from my other acts of self-care.
Engaging in things like self-care can feel selfish. It can feel time-consuming in the wrong way. It can feel as though you are wasting time. But trust me, once you begin engaging in the smallest things the rest comes as easily as the ABC's.
We all know how drinking eight glasses of water a day can help impact your daily living. Now, imagine how you feel after you've successfully drank eight glasses of water. You probably feel pretty bad a**. You may feel like you can conquer anything life throws at you. (Not really, but bear with me.) Now, imagine if you engaged in one act of self-care every couple of hours. Imagine that you feel the way you feel after drinking your eight glasses of water after you've engaged in an act of self-care. This feeling likely would lead you to continue drinking eight glasses of water a day or engage in acts of self-care daily.
If you drink eight glasses of water a day for an entire year, imagine how you'd feel at the end of that year. Now, imagine how you'd feel after an entire year of engaging in acts of self-care. Overall, you'd probably feel better, lighter, happier. You'd be more mindful, easy going, and potentially more patient with yourself. Imagine the ultimate changes that could occur if you chose to engage in self-care.
Before engaging in small acts of care, I was hostile, impatient, and didn't think that I could possibly feel better by simply taking time for myself. In the beginning, it felt as though I was selfish, wasteful, and unworthy. The first part of engaging in self-care is to put these feelings aside and to determine that you're worthy. You are worthy enough to set time aside for you. You are worthy enough and you deserve to do things for you and your mental health.
Believe it or not, telling yourself that you are worth it is part of the self-care process. With that I say this: you are worthy. You deserve it. And you will feel better. This is not selfish. You NEED this.
