The Importance of Self Care
Self care is popping up everywhere these days and for good reason – as a society (and especially us mamas), we are overtired, stressed to the max, busy as hell and pretty much at the brink of a breakdown most days. If you have ever thought, “why is self care important?” or “I don’t have time for self care, everyone needs me” then you are exactly the person who needs some TLC! Read on about the importance of self care and my best tips for making it a priority.
Why is self care important?
The importance of taking care of yourself should not be ignored. I am a mom of two boys, one with special needs, and if I ignore myself our life is pretty much a disaster.
Since I started a self care practice, I am able to handle stressful situations with much more patience and grace than I ever was before.
When I make myself a priority everyone in my family benefits. Happy mommy, feeling good = happy family.
When you put emphasis on the importance of taking care of yourself you will feel better, your skin will glow, you will have more patience and so much more. Wouldn’t you say that’s important?!
Is self care selfish?
Absolutely not! Honestly, we are doing everyone around us a disservice if we don’t take care of ourselves.
If I put self care on the back burner (because life happens sometimes, ya know?), my husband can tell and he tries to take the kids out for a little bit so I can have some me-time.
You can bet he knows life isn’t so good when mama is frazzled or burnt out!
But honestly, I don’t like when it gets to that point. I want to be on top of my self care so I don’t turn into that frazzled mess.
What are the benefits of practicing self care?
There are so many incredible benefits to have a regular self care routine. Let’s get into a few of them.
You will be a champ at managing stress
Once you recognize the importance of taking care of yourself and start putting self care front and center, you will notice that you handle stressful situations like a champ.
The little things that may have caused a blow up before, won’t seem so bad.
You won’t get as frazzled and you will feel like you can handle anything.
I highly recommend these essential oils for stress and anxiety – they are my go-tos!
Your emotional health will improve
This is so important. Our mental health is everything.
We need to feel good about our self, our lives and our families.
Having a positive outlook on life is essential. Feeling good and showing others (especially our kids) that we value ourselves is so important.
Self care is absolutely crucial for our overall well-being.
Your physical health will improve
Once you start moving your body, hydrating more and really focusing on you, you will see a change in your physical health.
In general, you will feel so much better. I’m not talking about losing weight, I’m talking about feeling good in your skin. Feeling healthy.
For myself, I notice that when I focus on feeling good, that bag of chips doesn’t seem so enticing. I want to fuel my body with food and drinks that energize me, not foods and drinks that make me feel bloated and gassy. You with me?
You will enjoy time with your kids again
You know when you get that overwhelmed feeling and you have a kid in the background going, “mom look at me!”, you tend to get really annoyed and short with your kid?
When in reality they just want to show you a cool fort they just made and then you feel like crap for being so annoyed?
Yup, we’ve all been there.
When I feel good, less overwhelmed, and less stressed, I enjoy my kids and their creative stories and ideas so much. Isn’t that how motherhood is supposed to be?!
You can feel that way again and it all starts with self care.
For me, if you haven’t noticed, my main goal is feeling good – feeling good in my mind, body and soul. If I’m feeling good, I’m a better mom, a better wife, a better friend…a better everything.
What are some examples of self care?
The possibilities are endless! Self care is anything that makes you feel good, calm, grounded, relaxed, and inspired.
It could be your nightly oil cleansing routine or five minutes outside with your feet on the earth.
It could be taking a shower or making yourself a yummy, gorgeous salad.
It could be driving around in your car listening to music or making yourself a hydrating green juice.
It could be a long walk with your dog or a little cuddle time with your kids.
It could be diffusing your favorite essential oils.
It could be absolutely anything that puts a smile on your face!
The importance of self care is huge, but putting it into practice doesn’t have to be hard. It’s the small, mindful acts throughout the day that add up to big results.
How do I start a self care routine?
The best thing about self care is you can start today! You don’t need anything except yourself:)
I break my self care down into four categories: move my body, hydrate, take care of myself and feed my soul.
I go into much more detail of each of the four categories in this post and you can grab the free checklist while you’re there!
The basic idea is finding small, mindful moments throughout the day to really focus on you. It could be five minutes here, ten minutes there. It really starts to add up.
Check in with yourself at the end of the day to see how you feel. Write down a few things you did during the day for yourself (or just go through them in your head). Do you need to carve out more time? Do you feel good about your day? Are you able to relax now?
Think about how you can make some adjustments to your day. Do you need to wake up 15 minutes earlier? Do you need to get to bed earlier?
Every day is going to be different. When you make self care a priority, you will feel great, even on the off days.
You are important!
Don’t ever forget that! I hope you start incorporating a self care practice into your day. Comment below if you’re ready!
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