Sounds almost silly and easy, get more sleep, do a facial, read a book; but it goes so much deeper, beyond the surface of your pores and reading glasses. It’s usually associated to buying yourself a gift, some retail therapy, a candle salt bath, movie night, a mud mask or manicure, but true self care goes beyond what you can buy.
What is self care?
Self care is about building the life you want so you don’t have to escape from it.Practice daily self rituals, love yourself more, follow your passions and make time for you no matter how many kids, jobs or errands you have. More often than none, self care requires us to look at what needs to be done, which is usually the thing we least want to do. Do we need more personal maintenance? Financial responsibility, saving or splurging? Do we need to love ourselves more, embrace our flaws, focus more on our career goals that we desire so much, write more or dance more, or maybe hit the gym more? Things we want to improve about our minds, our bodies or our relationships, those are what we need to examine first. Self care is choosing a life that really, truly feels good as oppose to looks good. Social media has this concept of what self love and care are; flawless. Self improvement is driven from the very concepts that
Social media’s definition of self care:
Self care is not a perfectly snapped Instagram protein bowl, with a flawless “no filter” face, in perfectly fitting boy shorts, with some crystals carefully placed around you with a caption, “Embracing my flaws”. Social media has total control on what love, fitness and health now is but the irony is that it’s all staged, all set up. What we need to realize as women, is that everyone has flaws, Kim K has cellulite, (it’s true), we all cook sometimes and it comes out non gram worthy, we light the last of our candles so they’re not always brand new. Women are not perfect, humans are not perfect, so accept what is wrong in your life, know that most events are temporary and not worrying about what cannot be controlled is okay. However, worrying about what you can control such as how you feel, is a must. If you think self care is all about what you buy to make yourself feel better then you’ve already become disconnected from it. It is okay if you need a box of chocolates next to your candlelit bath, but find a consistent way to practice. Daily gratitude journals, meditation, 10 minutes away from your electronic devices each day, a daily walk or run or weekly if you can’t find the time, a Zumba class, a weekly meet up with your friends and cocktails. Stop looking to social media for a way to take care of yourself and start listening to what it is you need.
IF YOU ARE LACKING SOMETHING THEN FIND A SOLUTION TO START FILLING THAT VOID AND PAY ATTENTION TO IT.