Self Care; Where Does It Rank In Your Priorities?

November 1, 2022

In our busy lives it is easy for self care to get shoved aside and forgotten about, but truthfully it is the thing that should be at the top of our priority list each day.

Self care is often misunderstood as something like going for a spa day, a massage, a fancy dinner or shopping- and while these can be forms of self care, it is important to recognize that self care comes in many forms, and doesn’t need to be complex or come with a price tag.

It doesn’t need to be difficult…

Self care should be something that we practice each and every day, not just when we have the time to treat ourselves to something we enjoy.

Recognizing that self love and self care go hand in hand also makes it easier to integrate small layers of change into our day to day lives.

The more we practice self care the more likely we are to act from a place of self love, and the more often we act from a place of self love the more likely we are to promote our self care.

It is so important to recognize that we cannot pour from an empty cup. Instead, if we take care of ourselves on a deeper level (I’m talking more than nutrition and exercise)– things like our mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing– we will be able to fill our cups, and our good energy will then spill over into everyone else, without us even trying.

When we take the time to look after ourselves, we are not only improving our lives, but the lives of those around us. Thus, we will start to attract those who align with our energy, not drain it- making it even easier to stay accountable to our self care.

Make it your top priority!

It is important to honour your body and what it is calling in, providing yourself with the things you need to up-level your body, mind and soul.

If you need to sleep, sleep, if you need to cry, cry, if you need space, take space– recognizing what your body needs and finding ways to accommodate that is crucial.

Sometimes getting to this place mentally where we can honour what our body needs means setting boundaries with yourself and others, and respecting them.

Being able to recognize that if someone else cannot respect the boundaries you’ve set in order to protect your wellbeing, that you may need to re-evaluate your relationship with that person and ask yourself if that relationship is worth negatively impacting your ability to practice self care and promote your self love.

How to start making the shift…

Take time to identify if there is something that is blocking you from being able to take that step to better yourself.

If so, is it someone in your life, an underlying thought or belief (such as you feel you’re unworthy), or just a general misunderstanding of how simple it can be to integrate self care into your day to day life?

If any of these are showing up in your life, take some time to think about how you can work on removing whatever it may be that is holding you back from being your happiest and healthiest self.

Here are some of my favourite ways to promote my own self care:

A fully present walk in nature. No phone, no music, no outside distractions.

Sometimes this looks like having the ability to sit with my thoughts, recognize what is coming up for me and why, and being able to process these things and try to find clarity.

Other times it’s simply just being present in the moment, feeling a sense of calmness and recognizing that this time is for me to take a step away from whatever is going on that may be overwhelming me.

Doing an activity that brings me joy.

I love enjoying the outdoors in many ways, however one of my favourites would be on my dirt bike or snowmobile.

Honouring my body when it needs sleep or rest, and not feeling guilty about it.

It took me a long time to get to a point where I was able to not feel guilty for taking the time I needed to rest, as from a very young age it was instilled in me that I needed to constantly be productive or else I would fail in being successful in life.

This is an example for me that falls back to a belief that, ‘I am not worthy’.

I felt I was not worthy of resting, thinking it was impacting my potential to be successful, which I’ve now learnt is quite the opposite.

Setting Boundaries.

This one kind of falls more under the self love category.

It was something I had to do with loved ones in my life who would make me feel guilty for doing things that promoted my self care, such as going dirtbiking, hiking, camping, running etc.

I was made feel like engaging in these activities as frequently as I felt I needed to, was being irresponsible, as I could be doing something “productive”, like work.

I had to set boundaries with loved ones to recognize that these things are important to me in my life and they didn’t get a say or to make me feel guilty for doing these things that were promoting my self care.

There you have it! A simple recap on why self care is so valuable, and some simple ideas for being able to promote it in your own life.

I hope that if you don’t already prioritize your self care that this blog post inspires you too- and if you are engaging in self care regularly, perhaps this has brought a new light to it.

Remember, it is never too late to start and there is no act of self care that is a waste. Whether its 1 minute and $0.00, or a day at the spa, the effects are incredible.

Love,

Taylor Goebel xx

LPN & student coach

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