How do you take care of yourself?

Or, are you that person who feels “self-care” is a nice thought but not meant for you?

Do the words “self-care” make you cringe and fill you with guilt?

What’s self-care anyway?

You may think of cliche things like taking a bubble bath and eating chocolate 🍫 (which is my favorite).

I see it as giving yourself what you need emotionally, physically, and mentally so you can be loving and present with yourself and people you care about.

For example, when I feel overwhelmed and not like myself, I:

– Lie down and close my eyes for 10 minutes.

– Break down what I’m overwhelmed about into smaller steps and do something.

– Watch cute animal videos on YouTube (thank goodness for the internet!)

– Talk to Dave. Sometimes, all I need to feel better is to verbalize how I’m feeling.

– Doodle.

– Cancel dinner with friends if I’d rather stay home and have an alone time.

– Eat a donut and don’t punish myself for it.

– Take a walk.

– Diffuse my favorite essential oils (my fave uplifting combo is lavender, wild orange, and peppermint from doTerra.)

– Watch a sad movie and cry.

– Give someone else encouragement.

– Make a list of what I’m grateful for, no matter how small.

(These are just some of the things that help me – your list may look very different, and that’s OK!)

At my old non-profit job, we once had a speaker come and talk to us about the importance of self-care.

She said “saying no to someone else is saying yes to yourself.” And that’s stuck with me for many years.

(In fact, I should make a card saying that 💡yes?)

You know, self-care’s like taking care of your car – if you take it in for a regular maintenance, you prevent the major issues from cropping up in the future – saving you money and the headaches (and accidents!) in a long run.

Nobody thinks taking a good care of your car is selfish. They actually think it’s smart!!

Self-care works the same way. If you do small things to take care of yourself every day, it’ll keep you away from that scary B-word.

BURN-OUT.

Who wants a burn-out? NOBODY. If you’re burnt out, you stop caring. You’re no good for anyone, including yourself.

You may think “nah, I’m too busy for this. I’m doing OK.”

Hear me out. It’s not the matter of “if,” it’s “when.” Just like a head gasket in your car, which is guaranteed to get blown at a certain mileage (speaking from an experience 🙋🏻‍♀️), burnout will happen if you never stop to take care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself before you get too drained to care is not selfish. It’s necessary.

You know, your friends and family don’t care as much if your house is sparkling clean or your kid’s dressed in a perfectly matching outfit – they’d prefer that you’re happy and fun to be around.

My “Self-Care is not Selfish” design has resonated with many people since I created it last summer.

It tells me that so many of us struggle to put our needs first.

We all need to believe in this message. And if you need to hear it from someone else, hear it from me!

And now it’s available as a vinyl, dishwasher safe sticker!

Decorate your water bottle, mug, laptop, bike helmet, or car with this sticker (I have a friend who put my “You Are Enough” sticker on her bathroom mirror as a daily reminder ❤️) so you can take it wherever you go.

I hope my little creation will remind you that you’re a human being who deserves a little TLC every day❤️

xo