The Importance of Self-Care: Why and How to Prioritize It

Hello everyone. Today I want to discuss something very important and it is self-care. So many times we are so busy that we don't really take the time to do a lot for ourselves and to really focus on ourselves, and this is not a good thing because self-care is just so important. We need to all take that time to pamper ourselves a little bit, to get in tune with ourselves, our bodies, our minds–see what sort of thing we need, what could help us, and try to fulfill those needs. And so self-care is something that often gets thrown to the wayside because we're so busy. We have so many things to do in our lives, whether it is work or taking care of people in our lives: relatives, even reaching out to our friends and helping them. All kinds of things get in the way of us focusing on ourselves. And so it is important to make an effort to really focus on self-care: to recognize that it is important and to focus on it. Because otherwise if we neglect ourselves, we won't be in top form, and then we won't be able to help others like we want to because we won't ourselves be in top shape. 

So things like self-care, it really depends on your own personal preference and needs what kind of self-care that we're talking about. It could be something to de-stress, something as simple as taking a long warm bath, where you just retreat and just focus on relaxing. It could be taking some time for meditation, to have a mantra, to think quietly and clear one's mind and meditate. It could be doing something that you really enjoy like listening to music, watching the TV show that you really enjoy, renting that movie. And just relaxing and doing things like that help us to get outside of ourselves. So it can be very relaxing. It can be a nice thing to watch a movie, to watch a TV show. It is not just about the entertainment value but it is also a way to de-stress.

And so there's all different kinds of self-care. There's also just making sure that we're getting proper nutrition, so eating well–if you take a multivitamin, taking your vitamins. Things like getting enough sleep, that is really important too. That is a form of self-care because if we don't get enough sleep, we get run down, and that is not good. Then we lose our energy, and we just don't have the energy to do the things that we want to do.

So all kinds of things fall under the umbrella of self-care: getting enough sleep, taking the time to socialize, to talk to our friends and to talk to our family. Sometimes that gets put on the wayside and neglected because we're so busy, you know, taking care of people, working, all of that. And so reaching out to friends and family and taking time to socialize, that is actually another form of self-care because it is something that helps our spirits to feel awesome. And so it is nurturing to ourselves.

Another thing that can be considered self-care is taking care of our appearance, you know, because when we look good we feel good. And so taking care of one's appearance can be considered self-care, whether that is makeup, clothing, going out and getting some nice clothes that you really enjoy wearing, different things like that, taking care of your hair–just putting oneself together so one looks good. And that helps a person to feel good. So that also falls under the umbrella of self-care.

Self-care is very personalized to the person, what they consider to be important to nurture themselves. It could be spending time in nature, going for a walk, getting into nature. That could be considered self-care for somebody. So it is really personal as to what exactly the self-care entails, but really the important thing is to make time for it in one's life. Put it on the calendar because it is important. So rather than it getting to be something that gets neglected because we're so busy, it is something that should be put up there with important priorities and prioritized.

Another aspect of self-care is medical care, making sure one goes to their checkups, their appointments, and takes care of their medical needs. Because sometimes even that gets postponed because people are busy, and that really shouldn't happen. It should be a priority.

So we've discussed different types of self-care. Let's focus again on how self-care ends up not being a priority or not happening. Part of it is just that so many of us are so busy. But part of it is that some people believe self-care can be considered that they're being selfish somehow, that it is not something they should really focus on. And that is a mistake because it is not selfish to make sure that your self-care is prioritized. It is something that is nurturing for yourself, and if you're the type of person that is really a giver and you always want to help other people, it is important to realize that if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be at your best to help others. So even if you're the type of person that tends to put yourself last, you still have to realize that with self-care, that is something that will help you to help other people.

So self-care is so important for so many reasons, and it is something that we really need to focus on. We need to make sure that that is on our calendar, prioritized in front of our minds. And what happens when we prioritize the self-care? Well, we feel better. We feel better physically. We feel better mentally and spiritually. And all of those things help us to blossom as a person.

So self care is really important. It is something that is important to focus on, and I'm hoping that you all will take some extra time to focus on self-care.

Give Yourself Permission to Dream

 Having a dream to pursue makes life richer. You may or may not attain the dream you have, but you are trying, and along the way, good things happen as you chase a dream.

A dream is similar to a goal. It is a goal that involves your passion and may not be as attainable as your other goals, but that is okay. It is worth pursuing a dream because in the end, whether or not we attain it, we can at least say that we tried. And there is satisfaction to knowing that you gave your dream a chance to come true. What we attain for sure is the experiences that come about as we pursue our dreams. Those experiences add to our fulfillment, and they can offer us learning opportunities as well.

Giving yourself permission to dream unlocks your imagination. As you think about what your dream would be, you can consider many possibilities that would bring you happiness. Those possibilities will never come true unless you allow yourself to dream. As you dream, your imagination flourishes. Why stop yourself as you are dreaming? Why psyche yourself out, saying this will never happen? Let your dream flourish and develop. The more your imagination is awakened, the more ideas you will have that could potentially lead to your dream coming true.

 Following your dream requires action on your part. Once you have brainstormed ideas on how to take initial steps in pursuit of your dream, you need to take action and just begin. Sometimes it is fear that holds us back from pursuing our dreams. We can have a fear of failure, or even a subconscious fear of success that holds us back. It is important to let go the fear to enable one to go after their dreams. How to do this? Well, positive thinking and meditation can help to assuage the fear. Asking yourself, what is the worst that can happen—you fail to attain your goal? Then at least you will have tried, and most likely learned something along the way.

Sometimes we end up not pursuing our dreams because we assume that we will not be successful. We psyche ourselves out from the get-go, and then just decide, consciously or sometimes subconsciously, to not attempt the dream at all. This is a shame because we cannot know for sure that we will fail in our endeavor. As well, our definition of success may change as we go through the experience of pursuing our dream. We can develop new skills along the way. And who knows, we just might find success and fulfill our dream.

Pursuing a dream can seem daunting. But one can start with baby steps. Then, step-by-step, one can move closer to attaining their dream. It is important to set realistic goals along the way, which will keep you focused and on course.

Sometimes we lose patience in pursuit of a dream. We are in a rush. We want success right away, straight out of the gate. But reaching one’s goals takes time. We will need patience in order to carry on in our quest and not give up prematurely. Telling yourself that the end goal is worth pursuing and reminding yourself of why it is your dream can help you to find the patience needed for your pursuit.

If you can see it, you can be it. Creative visualization is a helpful tool to utilize when in pursuit of a dream. Using one’s imagination to visualize the hoped for end result and the steps along the way can increase motivation. Visualization helps to remind you of why you are taking the steps that you are, what the end goal is. Visualization can also help to boost your confidence, which can increase the likelihood of your success in your endeavor. We can just close our eyes and imagine, imagine what it would be like to attain our dream, or imagine what successful steps along the way will look and feel like. We can also draw a picture that symbolizes what attaining our dream would mean to us. That can be used to help motivate us along our path to success. So don’t forget about the power of creative visualization when it comes to going after your goals.

Writing about our dream can help to keep it alive and burning within us. We can write down our goals and steps along the way to our dream. We can write down our feelings about our dream and why it holds importance to us. Talking to others about our dream can also help to keep our dream alive. Some dreams we may not want to share with others, and instead prefer to keep them private. We may feel that another person could psyche us out, or that our dream is more powerful when kept to ourselves. It is fine either way. Dreams are a personal thing, and how we dream is personal to us.

There is comfort to knowing that we tried to attain our dream, even if we fail. At least we did not give up, or never try at all. It is worth the effort to see where it leads. It could lead to an unexpected good thing as well, even if not to attaining the dream. Dreams add color and passion to our lives. For that reason alone it is worth striving to achieve one’s dream.

Following one’s dream is good for the spirit. It unleashes one’s imagination and creativity. Believing in possibilities is uplifting. Who knows what lies ahead anyway. Pursuing a dream can lead one to wonderful places.

Before one can attain one’s dream, one has to unlock that dream from within. If we don’t believe in dreaming, how will we spur our imagination onto what could possibly be? Giving oneself permission to dream is the first step to achieving one’s dreams. So dream, dream, and dream again! Dreaming is good for the soul. It can transform our thinking and allow us to see new possibilities on the horizon. So give yourself permission to dream.