Self-Care is Self-Preservation

Experiences in life can leave us feeling depleted, exhausted with little to no hope for our future. This can be particularly true when we have not been intentional about checking in with ourselves, nor proactive about doing things to top up our reservoir. These feelings are a common part of the human condition. The body is an incredibly complex machine and it has a way of letting us know that something is wrong. In this reality our burnout risk is significantly increased. When we avoid checking in with oursleves we may feel uninspired, frustrated and thus less patient with ourselves and others. To effecticely manage, it is important to establish boundaries which allow us to prioritise a self-care lifestyle for. For example, it is perfectly fine to decline taking on another task if you already have evening plans on Friday night. There is nothing wrong with binge watching Netflix and putting on a face pack if that provides the energy boost and reset you desire. When you are feeling lack luster and in need of charging, an analogy that may help you make time for self-care is the “P.I.P. (Peace is Power) Analogy”. Imagine yourself as an apple pip and your self-care is the sun and water – you have a chance to one day create fruit. Said fruit could be ripe, healthy and plentiful. However, if you refuse to nurture those pips your fruit may not grow. Self-care doesn’t have to extravagant, time consuming or expensive. It could be as simple as standing at the back door once the kids are in bed. It could be taking a work break to deep breath for 60 seconds. It could be putting on some music and dancing in the kitchen. It could be taking a mindful bath where you are aware of the scents in the room– and focus on how the foaming suds feel against your skin. This could be a way to detach from something that’s been a source of stress. It could be a walk around the block or unfollowing toxic people on social media. How will your self-care efforts look? Self-care should not be a chore. While it can initially feel alien, consistent repition can help you feel better. If you need support with grounding, finding, watering and sunning your seeds – I am available to help you bare fruit. Contact me for a free counselling or coaching consultation. Love, peace and power, Rochelle