7 Inspiring Quotes to Help You Redefine Self-Care.
What do you associate with self-care? Probably exercise, healthy eating and taking time for a mindfulness practice.
While it is all these things, it is so much more. Rather than see self-care as something you do, how about shifting it to a lifestyle that is who you are?
Here are some inspiring quotes to give a new perspective and make self-care a lifestyle, not something you do occasionally and then feel guilty about.
"Self-care is giving the world the best of you instead of what's left of you' – Katie Reed.
Imagine you are the oil diffuser of your home and office – what you put into it will permeate out to yourself and those around you.
Adding lavender and vanilla to the diffuser will elevate and calm the room. Now, what are you putting into your diffuser? Stress, overwhelm, resentment or fatigue? Let me tell you, as a combination, it's overpowering and contagious to those around you.
When you practice self-care, you add enthusiasm, gratitude, passion and joy; this is an equally contagious mixture.
How do you get to this place? Stop putting everyone else ahead of you and stick to what you know you should do – movement, nutrition, hydration, connection, sleep and relaxation.
You already know the what; now it's giving yourself permission to give the best to yourself and others, not just crumbs.
"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you love" – Rumi.
Self-care allows you to indulge in activities that bring you joy, especially those unrelated to work. These actions allow you to express who you are and ignite yourself from the inside out.
Here are the most common wishes from my clients:
Gardening, swimming, dancing, fashion design, interior design, coding, music, painting, baking, cooking, puzzles, cycling, martial arts, soccer, Lego, paddle ball, poetry, crafts, reading, and I am sure you have filled in your blanks.
Self-care is letting go of the attachment to an outcome, so what if it's unrelated to work? Forget about external approval or how many likes you may get. It's about the joy of allowing your true self to come through when you give yourself the space to spend time on the activity.
Your challenge is to schedule this regularly into your week, not only when you're on leave. Even 20 minutes spent on this passion will energise you, inspire you and make you more creative, especially in your work life.
"Self-care is choosing yourself as your why" – Lori Milner
One of my clients, Anna, suffered from a health issue for many years and didn't give it the attention it deserved until she got married. She then decided to get healthy for her husband and made significant changes for a period before regressing to old habits.
Then, they wanted to start a family, so she decided to get healthy again and had three beautiful kids. With time, her motivation dwindled, and she returned to her old ways and became very self-forgetting.
Until one day, she made a profound choice – to choose herself as the reason she wanted to change permanently. On reflection, she never committed to the change; it was always for someone else, so it never lasted.
Her shift was understanding that she is worthy of being the reason why and making decisions in her own best interest.
If you struggle with self-care, consider choosing yourself as your why.
"Self-care is not self-indulgence; it is self-preservation." — Audre Lorde
Most people associate self-care activities with guilt – how can I take time for myself when I have so much work or need to look after everyone else? This attitude will leave you burned out, resentful and far from content.
If you associate self-care with indulgence, it feels like you're being greedy. However, there is a difference between greed and attentiveness. Giving yourself attention and time is the prerequisite to show up as your best self.
What will it cost you in the long term to continue this story of indulgence and guilt? Self-preservation is about enabling you to be the parent, partner, leader, and friend you aspire to be.
Think of it like maintenance on your house – if you don't immediately attend to the little cracks and leaks, you are left with a massive problem. It's the same with you.
With your house, you don't think twice because you know the long-term consequences; it's time to care about your long-term consequences.
If you don't do it for yourself, imagine your future self of five years or even six months begging you to slow down or get up and go for the run.
Whatever you consider an indulgence, it's time to reframe it into healthy maintenance.
"Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." — M. Scott Peck.
Self-care is placing value on what matters to you and then proving it to yourself by making space in the calendar and committing to it.
Many clients procrastinate on their studies or personal goals not because they're lazy but because they feel guilty investing the time because it's ' only for them'.
They can justify the time spent on work-related tasks because it's attached to an outcome – this is easy to compartmentalise in their mind.
When you value yourself, you will value the task and see your time as an investment.
"Self-care means giving yourself permission to pause." — Cecilia Tran
Self-care means no longer linking your self-worth to your busyness.
Most people fear slowing down because then how are they valuable? Some even go to the extent of creating chaos, so they enjoy the feeling of saving others and being the rescuer from the chaos.
Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is stop what you're doing and focus on the quality of your thinking rather than the pace of your doing.
Self-care is knowing that stillness does not define you as being valuable or not.
"I want to feel my life while I'm in it." - Meryl Streep.
This is the highest form of self-care when you allow yourself to feel the day rather than get through each day.
How do you feel the day? It's giving yourself permission to insert a mental pause button so you can ask yourself how you feel and what you need. Even if it's taking a few deep breaths or getting yourself a snack.
Self-care is giving yourself space to be OK with not being OK and being open to whatever shows up.
You feel the day when you practice gratitude and contentment for what is already in your life rather than focus on what's missing.
You feel the day when you give yourself permission to stop inventing reasons to work after hours so you can spend quality time with your family or friends.
It's finding joy in the process rather than being nice to yourself when you get 'there', whatever it is for you. You feel the day when you acknowledge your wins and practice kindness towards yourself. You feel the day when:
· You give the world the best of you instead of what's left of you
· You let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love
· You choose yourself as your why
· You see self-care not as self-indulgence but as self-preservation
· You value yourself and your time
· You give yourself permission to pause
Here's to self-care because it's who you are,
Warm wishes,
Lori