Whether I meet with people inside or outside of the professional setting, one thing is always abundantly clear.
Self-care is defined differently by each of us.
Some have said that self-care is the ability to take care of themselves in whatever way they need, but rather frequently this question yields a pause right before the internal light of awareness goes off. This light illuminates the fact that the other person generally is not practicing self care. They usually drop their chin before they say something like “Yeah, I don’t really have time for that”.
Sound familiar?
I get it. I’m definitely not saying this from a place of judgement, but what I am suggesting is that if this sounds like you, then I want to encourage you to keep reading.
Self care is highly individualized, which means that showing up as your BEST self is individualized as well. To understand what your needs are starts with understanding YOU.
If you were asked today to define what are the parts of self; specifically the parts that comprise all of you? What would you say? Know this, there is no one right answer.
As a general rule, the parts of self include many areas: emotional, mental, spiritual, and social- just to name a few on a basic level. The thing that I am proposing is that a lot of our issues with self-care begins with recognizing the parts of us that need tending to.
Essentially each of us is a garden full of beautiful parts and recognition of these beautiful parts allows us to better understand how to properly nourish it.
How do you know which parts of you NEED watering? By understanding your needs. Some of us may need more of one thing while others need more of something else. What are your needs?
I always tell my patients that we can get away from other people but at the end of the day they are still stuck with themselves. Might as well make it a great place to be & a space they love!
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