Sunday, 02 June 2019 / Published in Inspiration, Motivation, Self-empowerment

Self-Care is More than a Trip to the Mall

Recently my team completed a 360 Survey on my leadership and rated me high on self-care. I aspire to model good self-care and often encourage them to take breaks and take care of themselves. They are very hardworking people, but I want them to be happy, healthy and balanced.

Self-care is a ubiquitous term that is often spoken, but how often is real self-care actually put into practice?

Some people consider self-care going to the mall where they acquire things they don’t need–to impress people who are not impressed. According to a recent Eventbrite survey, American’s spend 22% of their disposable income or $2,388 a year–on non-essential items to “treat themselves.” Although this form of self-care is great for retailers and our country’s GDP, there are other ways that I will discuss shortly.

Although I don’t particularly like shopping more than 60 minutes, I do like deeply discounted stylish-quality clothing. I must admit that I watch my spending…due to my nonprofit salary and Mr. Eugene Krabs cheapness-LOL!

However, real self-care is more than a trip to the mall. It’s about doing things that keep your mind, body and spirit healthy.

It can be something as simple as taking time to meditate or pray to center and rest your mind–keeping yourself mentally and spiritually healthy.

It could be simply going for a walk. I often go for walks when I am stressed or just need to reflect and refresh. It may include exercising regularly and eating right to make sure that you feel good, reduce stress and are at your best.

It may also include meeting with a counselor or friend to talk through some things or doing scheduled health checkups (mine is past due).

No matter what, it does not have to involve spending large sums of money or overindulging in food or alcohol, which may be a form of self-medicating that leads to more problems and is antithetical to good self-care.

Self-care is important for every job or profession: executive, nurse, fast food worker, teacher or plumber. We all need to make sure that our mind, body and spirit are connected and cared for–that is what self-care is all about.

Here are a few pointers for good self-care:

Schedule it-We all are busy and can neglect our wellbeing in the process. Put your self-care activities on your calendar to make it a priority and stick to it.
Enjoy it-Try doing things that you enjoy. I enjoy going to the gym and working out, but others may prefer gardening, bike riding or yoga for example. It could also include dancing and listening to good music. Anybody who knows me well knows that I love to dance! Self-care should include having a good laugh…we all need more of those for sure. No matter what do what you love!
Keep it Simple-Self-care may include a nice vacation, but can also be a small staycation where you have the opportunity to unplug your social media and plug into and nurture off- line relationships. Having deeper/healthy connections to family and friends is always a good part of self-care.

Starting today…make sure that you make time to take care of yourself.
And remember that you need not take a trip to the mall or whip out your American Express or Visa to engage in self-care!

Keep it simple, keep it fun and make sure that it refreshes your mind, body and spirit.

Remember Greatness Awaits you when you exercise good self-care!