YOU’VE BEEN DOING SELF-CARE ALL WRONG

I’m a big believer in the theory that you have to be at your best to be able to give your best. It’s why I respect companies that would do anything to make sure that their employees are at their most comfortable. It’s why I work for one of such companies 😁

Anyways, this post is not about where I work. It’s about you and what you are doing to ensure that you are at your best. That is what self-care is…being good and kind and caring to yourself and doing things that contribute to putting you at your best. It is knowing when you’re running low on energy and taking time to refresh and re-energize before you burn out. It is being as kind to yourself as you are to other people.

It’s so easy to forget about self-care. By default, so many of us are kinder to other people than we are to ourselves. Some of us don’t even know what self-care is or isn’t. So as usual, I’m here to give you the whole scoop😉:

Self-care IS NOT just anything that feels good. Alcohol isn’t self-care. Eating junk everyday isn’t self-care. Watching shows late into the night everyday and never getting enough sleep isn’t self-care. They don’t contribute to putting you at your best.

Self-care IS treating yourself well and doing things that will eventually put you at your best. E.G Eating healthy, getting enough sleep, exercising, a spa day (no, you don’t need to spend money).

Self-care IS NOT selfish. It doesn’t mean “To hell with everybody else. I’m only doing me.”

Self-care IS selfless. Self-care is basically building a healthy relationship with yourself so you can develop healthy relationships with other people. You can’t give what you don’t have. So if you think about it, self-care is actually you giving yourself the ability to give more of yourself to your people and relationships. Selfless!

Self-care IS NOT isolating yourself from all relationships in the name of protecting your space.

Self-care IS building positive relationships and setting healthy boundaries for your space and sanity.

Self-care IS NOT spending money you don’t have on things you don’t need. It is not “I had a bad day so I’m going to just buy the $100 bag that I really shouldn’t be buying right now”.

Self-care IS actually good financial planning to ensure that your mental and emotional health doesn’t suffer because you’re broke.

Self-care IS NOT killing yourself working overtime and getting zero rest because you’re trying to move up the ladder.

Self-care IS saying NO to things that over-extend you and giving yourself a chance to be more productive with the things that matter.

Self-care IS NOT accidental.

Self-care IS intentional.

Now that you have a good idea what self-care is, I’m sure I don’t need to convince you on why it’s important. I started this post by saying that you have to be at your best to be able to give your best. That’s a super convincing reason already. Add that on better productivity, better physical and emotional health, great self-esteem and a great life in general and gbam! It’s everything you’ve been missing out on.

Yessss! I’m so proud of you sweetie. Pay attention to your health. Eat right. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Make great friends. And in general, live your best life. I’m cheering for you!

Love,

Tomi of Lagos