Maybe it’s my Gen X perception, but all this talk about “self care” just seems silly and selfish to me. It conjures up images of women in bathtubs drinking wine or spending way too much time and money on spa treatments deemed necessary by all those influencers on Instagram. It grants permission to be selfish and self indulgent and while everyone deserves to treat themselves in whatever way makes them happy, over-emphasizing self-indulgent behaviors under the positive guise of “self care” seems all kinds of wrong to me. I decided to take a look at what self care really means.
- Stop shopping and consuming mindlessly – yes, that email from your favorite store offering you discount codes is just their way of making money off you. Resist! Self care is knowing when and how you want to spend your money, not forking it over impulsively because you think it’s ‘self care’.
- Speaking of money, self care is budgeting, saving, investing and keeping tabs on where and how you spend your money and how to make it work for you. Not spending it for a short term self indulgent boost.
- It’s also knowing when and where to spend your money – on things that will last and are sustainable, a good coat when you need it, a pair of shoes you’ll wear beyond fashion trends or seasons, a trip, an experience, family and friends.
- Self care is exercising when you don’t feel like it because it is for your own health.
- Self care is eating healthy foods and being conscious about what you put in your body – not just foods, but chemicals and alcohol. Practice moderation, not gluttony. As we age, all these things need to be checked.
- Self care is not just about making time for yourself – granted busy people and parents do need this, but it’s also making time for friends and family.
- Self care is not hiding credit card bills, but opening them and dealing with debt.
- Self care is about pride in your home. That means cleaning, maintenance, making it beautiful and comfortable and welcoming.
- Self care is dealing with your mental health – if that means going to therapy, keeping a gratitude journal, simply writing your feelings down or coming up with ways to manage what ails you, whether it be anxiety or OCD, or anything else.
- And finally, self care is caring about others and the world we live in and making it a better place. Donate to a charity or cause that you believe in, vote, recycle, pick up trash you see in public places, lend a hand when and where you can.
Self care isn’t about making yourself beautiful on the outside, it’s about looking inward and making yourself beautiful on the inside. It’s hard work, it’s facing facts, it’s not pretty, but it’s rewarding in ways that $100 facial or beauty product won’t matter in time. True self care is worth the effort.
