Self-care is the art of knowing your worth and acting on it. It includes simple things, such as: showering, eating well, getting outside, sleeping enough, and relaxing. It can also include more complex activities, such as: meditation, participating in creative outlets, exercising, and even travel. You most likely know of the importance of these activities, but I am going to guess you rarely make time for them.

You are not alone.

It is easy to push self-care to the back, to take care of others, and to be focused on what needs to get done. However, if you are not taking care of yourself you will quickly find yourself on the brink of burn-out.

Here are two common barriers people put between themselves and self-care.

:: Not enough time. The solution here is simple – make the time. The reason people do not make time for something is because they do not see it as important, at least not as important as the things they do make time for. So the real solution is to find your “why” behind making time for self-care. To find your why, you have to ask yourself: “Why is it important to take care of myself?” Then ask why that is important to you. Keep asking until you get to a core why, something that hits home. Then, next time you aren’t making time for yourself, remind yourself of this why.

:: Other things are more important. There are certain non-negotiable things that need to get done: taking care of children, working, etc. These things are very important, but they are not more important than you. The solution to this is to recognize the importance of taking care of yourself first and making self-care time non-negotiable. You are most important, because if you are sick, depressed, burnt out, or just plan off your game, you will not be able to do anything else quite as well as you would if you were well taken care of.

Are either of these excuses you use to postpone (or completely avoid) taking care of yourself?

If so, take some time right now and brainstorm a list of ways you could take better care of yourself. Hang this list up and make a commitment to make these self-care activities part of your daily routine.

If you want to go deeper into self-care, join my free 5 day self-love adventure.

  Much love,

Danielle