How many messages are we sent each day through the media urging us to prioritize self-care? It has become incredibly commercialized this “caring of the self.” I have soaked in Calgon for years and I am still present and accounted for. “Take me away” it did not.
It’s easy to see the words “self care” and dismiss them as another marketing ploy. Yet beneath the surface, there’s a universal yearning for an elusive state of feeling loved, beautiful and free.
While I definitely want to talk about taking long bubble baths and efficient nap schedules, that’s not this article. Go up a level. From the “how” we care for the self, to focus on the “why” we care for the self. That’s the basis of untangling this concept.
Rethinking Urgency and Redefining Priorities
One challenge to spending time caring for the self is that the constant demands of life often leave us busy and our own well being is easily tucked out of sight.
Even when it’s chaotic it’s necessary to challenge conventional thinking and redefine urgency. Striking a balance between the chaos of “too much” and the emptiness of “too little,” we have to put our inner voice first.
Real life example: Every Wednesday you have 2 hours of alone time. The only time of the week that you have entirely to yourself. This week your boss says you must work tonight, unplanned and for an unknown reason. Do you work? Or do you tell your boss you have other plans? How do you choose? Hint: There is no wrong answer.
For balance you must align with your needs. The reason there is no wrong answer to the above is that it could be innumerable scenarios and every single person would have a different perspective based on their unique life view.
The Value of Your Time
You have 24 hours in a day. You get to use those hours as you wish. Most of us have to have a job of some kind to meet our needs for survival. To ensure you have access to food, water and shelter you must be able to pay. So we sell our time in exchange for money so that we can (hopefully) have more time.
Prioritize your time according to the balance you need between the demands of your environment.
…We’re Number One!
Go back in time to a high school football game. If you never went to one imagine any of the ones in a movie or TV show you’ve seen. The crowd is excited and the air is energetic. You here the familiar cheer “Who’s number one?….”
So. Math. If you are reading this you are one. You are the constant in the world as you know it. The perpetual number one. Without you…well? Without you there is nothing.
It’s not just a trend
Before it was commercialized self care was just life. People found a balance between survival and leisure. The world is more complicated now. But behind the self care trend is the key concept of making intentional choices.
Jean-Paul Sartre said, “We are our choices.” The power lies in acknowledging this.
The next time you hesitate to prioritize self care remember that it’s not about how you do it. Caring for the self is an intellectual and existential choice.
You’re the lead character! And the writer! And the director! What actions are taken now have to remain in the story line until resolved. Intentional choices make for a more interesting story.