[SELF-CARE] When Life Gets Crazy, Lean Into Self-Care

I once heard a woman say that when her son was diagnosed with cancer, she knew she had to be impeccable with her self-care so she could show up as her best self. She needed to ensure her diet, sleep, and exercise fueled her with the bandwidth she needed. This is a person who knows the value of self-care. But what is self-care exactly?

I think Dr. Christopher Palmer, MD said it best, "Self-care is the process of ensuring that people have everything they need to maintain their health and thrive," says the professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “It’s not about being ‘selfish.’ Instead, it’s about being responsible and taking care of yourself."

The state of the world is...a lot. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious, and that's why I've decided to make self-care the focus of my podcast and newsletter over the next few months. To help you come up with some practices that will give you the bandwidth you need to thrive in all areas of your life.

Self-care is one of the pillars of my life because without it, I tend to run myself into the ground and burn out. I know this from experience.

In the next few months, I'm going to go into detail about my self-care practices from:

SKINCARE: Harness the Power of Planning Podcast Episodes 142 - 146 are all about skincare. How and why it's one of the foundations of my self-care practice (hint: it sets the tone for the day and guarantees me good sleep at night), what my skincare rituals look like and the products I use.
What I put in my body: food, hydration, and supplements will start with Episode 147 next week.
How I move my body: From automating my movement with sunrise hikes and tennis with friends, to walks with heavy weights, to squatting with my teenager on my back, to lots and lots of fascia. These episodes will begin in April.
Relationships and Spirituality: How I make time for those I care about. (May)
Creativity: How my passion for humor has led me to performing and producing stand-up comedy (sold-out shows) and why I pursue this activity that is equal parts exhilarating and frightening. (May/June)

I hope that this detailed exploration of the many ways to take care of yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually can give you some ideas to help you craft some self-care rituals of your own. As I recently heard at a training I attended, the point of learning is not to solve your problems for you, but to give you that little boost you need to get moving to solve the problem for yourself.

I am six episodes in to what I'm calling "A Season of Self-Care". You can find all of them compiled on this one website. https://bywdreams.mailerpage.com/seasonselfcare

#selfcare #selfcareishealthcare