You know how it goes.
You plan all week to make that yoga class, watch that tv show you love, get some extra sleep etc. and then something comes up. You commit to one extra thing and, once again, you're at the very bottom of your list. There legitimately do not seem to be enough hours in the day to take care of your responsibilities AND do things that make you feel good. You wonder, "who has time for freaking self-care?!".
Well, the answer is we all do.
But, it's more complicated than that.
At some point, years ago, self-care became a buzz word. Everyone started talking about it and companies sought to profit from it. Instead of self-care being the intentional practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health (Oxford Languages), the concept was made into something bigger and less attainable. Suddenly, the picture of self-care included massages, daily workouts, and green juice- but that isn't what self-care is actually about.
Self-care requires an internal, intuitive process of discovering what makes us feel calm, restored, safe and connected to our authentic selves.
SPOILER ALERT- what makes us feel calm, restored, safe and connected is probably not green juice.
If we get back to focusing on self-care as it is intended, it feels a lot more approachable and less time-consuming. Instead of an hour yoga class, maybe it is stepping outside for 5 minutes or turning off your phone at a certain time in the evening.
It can be very small. Yet, when intentional, very small things can have a very big impact.
So, what do you think? Might there be time in your day for tiny acts of intention?
If so, checkout my free self-care checklist to get some ideas and then commit to giving them a try!
Download your self-care checklist here give yourself some credit for figuring out what works for you!
Warmly,
Meredith Waller MSW, LCSW
Based in Boulder, CO and offering online counseling throughout Colorado
-Certified Shame-Informed Treatment Specialist
-Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional
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