“I don’t have time to do it.” “I’ll get to it later.” “My career
(or education) comes first.” “I’m too busy.” ‘I’ll be (or I am) fine.” These
are some of the excuses people give for not taking care of themselves, and/or not
prioritizing their own health over other areas in their lives. I get it – there’s
sooooo much we need to get done in any given day, and we feel like doing
anything outside of those tasks will put us behind schedule, derail our
progress, or set us too far behind. The main reason being is that we don’t see,
or understand, the importance of making ourselves not just a priority, but THE
priority.
It’s very easy to get caught up in the demands of our daily
lives to the point that doing a self-care day, taking a break from studying, or
even stepping away from your work to hang out with your friends seems like a
waste of time. But if only we understood what we were doing to ourselves. I’m
not pointing fingers because I had the same issue, and my friends could tell
you just how busy I could get. But they will also tell you that I now make sure
I make time to relax and enjoy life because it’s of the utmost importance for
our overall health and well-being. There's only so much your body can take
before it reaches its limit – and then it may be too late…
So, let’s take a look at some ways not taking care of
yourself could affect you:
- Loss of sleep when you’re spending extra time getting things done
- Episodes of anxiety when things aren’t going according to plan
- Flashes of anger due to the long days and long nights
- Lack of focus since you’re trying to get multiple things done in a short amount of time
- Feelings of neglect from our families and those we care about
- Increase in stress levels from the load of tasks we are “balancing”
- Long-term health deficiencies such as sleep apnea, low testosterone levels, and depression
- Regret later in life because of how much you missed out on
- Influx of wrinkles and breakouts on your face
- Burning Out
These are general examples, but I am using them to
illustrate the different areas in your life you will start to see change. When
writing this list, I realized that the bigger problem is that since many of
these things may not happen until later on in life, we deceive ourselves by
thinking we’re okay. Until we can’t fall asleep properly anymore. Until we end
up hospitalized because our bodies gave out. Until we come home to a spouse
that’s walking out on us. Dramatic? Maybe. Have I seen it happen? Definitely.
But again, people won’t believe it until they see it, and I am here to help
make sure these don’t come to pass in your life.
So, Leslie, you’ve shown me what not giving myself the
proper attention can do, but why is it so important? I’m glad you asked [insert
your name here]. Self-care is important because it:
- Helps you maintain balance in life
- Keeps your body in good standing and good health
- Provides breathing room in the midst of life’s chaos
- Gives you time to yourself and the ones that matter to you
- Revitalizes your body and supplies a much-needed recharge
- Produces the energy you need to continue your grind
- Creates a habit of taking care of yourself so that you can take care of others
- Reestablishes your body’s rhythms like proper REM cycles
- Instills a more positive mindset
- Makes a better you
I won’t bore you by continuing this list but overall,
self-care is important because it will determine the outcome of your future.
Self-care is our key to a healthy life where every accomplishment is not undermined,
every obstacle is not unbeatable, and every day is not a struggle.
Then what can I do? Here are 10 steps you can start with:
- Learn to say no to others, especially when you’re already stressed
- Take breaks from your electronics and social media, and get active
- Set time frames to handle specific tasks and try to avoid working past it
- Incorporate at least one healthy item into your meals and eat regularly
- When you feel overwhelmed, take a step back to just breathe and recalibrate yourself
- Write down the things you accomplish each day to motivate yourself and boost morale
- Establish a sleep routine to ensure you’re getting at least a decent amount of rest each night
- Remove the takers from your life who will continue to extract as much from you as they can
- Use 30 min. – 1 hr. of your day to do something nice for yourself (maybe even unplug for a day)
- Address stress levels through calming activities like meditation, journaling or taking a warm bath
And many of these things don’t take much time or effort. You
have 24 hours in a day. If you spent 8 hours actually sleeping, 9 hours a day
working, 2-3 hours for all your meals, you would still have at least have 3
hours a day to utilize effectively. As I stated above, don’t make yourself the
last priority; make yourself THE priority. The only way you can continue to
pour into others and be effective in life is by taking care of the person doing
all the work – you.
Overall, I just want everyone to understand that a lifestyle
constantly on the go, and/or overworking yourself, may seem beneficial now but
will ultimately end up being your downfall. People will always take as much as
you’re willing to give, and you can’t give if your well runs dry. Why do you
think airlines advise you to put on your air mask first before helping others?
You’re not much help to people burnt out or stressed out. And pouring into
others shouldn’t be the sole reason for taking care of yourself; you should
take care of yourself because it’s your life and well-being. If you won’t place
higher value on your health and welfare, who will?
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