Why Is Self-Care Important?

If you have been following my blog lately, you know that I have had a common theme in several of my posts on the topic of self-care. This is because this practice has taken a major front seat in my life, and since making this change, I’ve enjoyed richer life experiences.

So I would like to take the time to write out some blog posts on my knowledge of self-care and how powerful it can be, not only for myself (because it’s been a passion of mine for awhile), but anyone that might be interested in starting their own self-care practice, or those wanting validation (and support) for a the self-care practice they already have in place.

I will get the ball rolling with discussing why self-care is so important.

Self-care is the ultimate expression of love. When we love ourselves enough to care how we feel, we are showing love not just to ourselves, but others too. We can do more, be more, and share more when we are at our best. This is why self-care is an important practice to have in our lives.

The misconception is common that we should put others first, that if we take time for ourselves or focus on ourselves too much, then we are being selfish. But how can a person be a functioning member of their friends, family, or even society, if they are stressed out, frazzled, and/or too sick to give back time or effort?

When we don’t feel good (for any reason, no matter how big or small), we are not just stealing from ourselves, but every other person we come in contact with. We are stealing the opportunity to have peace, joy, love, and happiness. We are stealing the opportunity to be our best selves.

Guess what happens when we are our best selves? Our lives shine and sparkle. More things go right for us. More fantastic opportunities open up for us. And we have way more time, energy, and love to give freely and effortlessly to anyone we come in contact with (no matter who they are).

To be our best, we have to take the time (maybe a whole lot of it), to spend time with ourselves. And we keep doing that over and over as much as it takes, until we feel strong enough, and maybe even excited to take on everyone and everything else.

So this means really paying attention to ourselves. What feels good? What doesn’t feel good? And do more of what feels good. Maybe it means cutting out certain things or people for a little while. That’s okay. It’s not our job to make people understand why we do the things we do, because let’s face it, people are going to think what they want any ways. But it is our job to be responsible for how we feel.

It is our job to create the change that makes us better, makes our lives better, if we truly desire better to come. It won’t come on its own. We have to do it, and we do it through loving ourselves enough to create a self-care practice.

So what does a self-care practice look like? And how do you start one if you don’t have one in place? These questions and more are answered in How to Start a Self-Care Practice.