Self-Care Is Not Selfishness

A friend once said that "if you cannot take care of yourself, you may not be able to take care of others." A lot of people struggle with the concept of self-care, because it is easily confused with selfishness. While growing up, we were taught to make sacrifices, to put others first, to pursue after the interest of others, and to be available for them at all times. While it is a noble thing to care for others, neglecting your own self in the process is not wise at all. It is important that you care for yourself. What you need to understand is that taking care of yourself makes you to be healthier, think clearer, and then take care of others better.

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Self-care begins will understanding that you actually matter. Trust me, your body, mind, and even your emotions are not machines that can run continuously without taking a rest. If you constantly give your energy, without replenishing yourself, you may become exhausted, frustrated, and resented eventually. One of the things that make a lot of people become worn out, is not because they do not have passion in life, but they do not have boundaries. Taking care of yourself is a very fundamental necessity of life. This is includes proper nutrition, rest, emotional balance, and peace of mind. Self-care is not a luxury but it is a necessity that is required for a sustainable living.

It is worthy to note that self-care does not mean ignoring other people or their needs. But in the real sense, it also includes showing up for others. Because when you have taken care of yourself, it will flow naturally, and taking care of the needs of others will become easy. After all, you can only give as much as you have. You will be surprised that when you have rested your mind, mentally healed, and sound, you will contribute more value to humanity. Even the decisions you make when your mind is calmer is generally better and holds more potency than when your mind is under stress and strain. This is why you should take the concept of self-care seriously.

Self-care also includes having and setting boundaries. If you do not know when to say "no" when situations warrant, you will end up hurting yourself by saying "yes" to everything. Just to let you know, saying "no" does not mean rebellion, neither is it a show of pride. No matter how hard you try, you cannot meet every single demand that is placed on you, otherwise you will just drain yourself. Boundaries do not only protect your sanity and your energy, but it also shows others how to treat you. When you place value on yourself and on your time, other people will also place value on you. How you see yourself will determine how others will also see you.

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Even in your emotions, you need to also allow yourself to heal. Ignoring your pain does not make it to disappear, rather it even multiplies it. Sometimes you need to reflect, rest, to re-strengthen yourself. Even in your place of work, you have to understand that you should have a time to rest. You are not the Managing Director of the entire universe. So find time to rest and take care of yourself. If you do not take care of yourself and if you do not rest, if something happens to you, you will be replaced by someone even better than you. So try to balance things up and have time to rest, and recover yourself.

It is true that you should serve the interest of others, but just to let you know, you also matter. As much you are called for stewardship, you also should know that there is one life that has been entrusted into your hands; and that is your own life. You are not choosing yourself over others by taking care of yourself, rather you are choosing sustainability. Caring for yourself is not selfishness, but it is responsibility. It is by doing good to yourself that the good you do to others will come from a place of strength and not from mental and physical exhaustion.

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