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What is self-care?
We’ve talked about self-care before. In our 30-Day Self-Care Challenge post, we share 3 benefits of self-care for parents:
Avoiding loss of identity
Improving overall life satisfaction
Regaining the joy of being a parent
Sounds amazing, right? Self-care isn’t only for parents, it’s for everyone, and it can look different for everyone.
First of all, self-care isn’t selfish!
The society we live in tends to view rest and relaxation when there’s work to be done, as selfish. Guess what? There will always be work. It’s the world we live in, the one thing that won’t always be here is you. If you don’t take care of yourself, that time may be more limited than you think.
A good example of this would be a watering can, if you keep pouring water on all of the plants around you, but don’t take time to fill yourself back up, you’re going to run out of water. You’ll become dry and unable to help those who depend on you.
Second, there is no wrong way to “do” self-care.
One of my favorite stories about “self-care” comes from John Wesley, an 18th-century Theologian known as the Father of Methodism. Wesley’s mother, Susanna had 19 children altogether, but sadly, only 10 survived. 10…I can’t imagine. It makes me wonder if she ever slept. In any case, Susanna understood the importance of self-care. John Wesley shared that when his mother needed a moment, she would pull her apron over her head, forming a kind of tent, and either pray or read her Bible.
Granted, she probably didn’t consider it self-care as it’s a fairly new concept for our world since most of our past consisted of just trying to survive, but she was focused on an inner part of herself that was for just her.
How do you get started?
As I just mentioned, there’s no right or wrong way when trying out a self-care practice. You just have to be willing to invest in yourself and to find what works for you.
Are you ready to try out some self-care activities?
Here are a few handouts to get you started.
