What is Self-Care?

The term self care has been on the tip of everyone’s tongues and fingertips lately (as it should be), but merely as a catchphrase for some. There are even social media hashtags dedicated not just to the term, but also certain days that seem to be bursting with opportunities for practicing self care. #selfcare (over 21 MILLION posts), #SelfcareSaturday (over 194k posts), #SelfcareSunday (over 58k posts), are the most popular, but my favorite is #Selfcare365, even though it has significantly fewer posts at just over 500. My favorite because, well, why shouldn’t you find opportunities to practice self-care 365 (or 366 since 2020 is a leap year and we get one extra day!) days per year? Self-care is generally defined as “...the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness. Taking action to improve or preserve one’s health.” The question is, “what have you done for YOU lately?”

The who’s and the why's of self care:

Maybe you feel like self care is just for certain people. If you do, you need to change your mindset IMMEDIATELY! Everyone needs some amount of self care. Period! It’s not just for women, or mothers, or people who regularly face high stress situations, or everyone except you. Self care is beneficial for anyone who breathes, and is capable of doing things for themselves. Ideally, we should practice self-care on a regular basis - in fact, create routines and rituals for self-care - as this will help to keep daily stress levels down. Lower stress levels not only improve your quality of life, but also its longevity. 

It is time to invest in YOU?

While most of us understand the value of self-care, and are even quick to recommend it to others, many don’t actually take the time to practice. We make excuses about lack or time or money or both. The truth is, it’s really not that difficult or expensive, and the time it takes is an investment in YOUR well-being. We spend a lot of time taking care of others, while making empty promises to ourselves to get to ourselves - someday. There is definitely significant value in being taken care of by others, and even allowing someone else to take care of you is itself an act of self-care. You probably don’t need to try very hard to think of at least one “selfless person” who would find it difficult to just sit still and have someone do for them, while they are constantly doing for others. This person might even be you.

Do you have a self-care routine or ritual? Comment below to share it with others, or if you would like suggestions on how to invest more time into yourself. Look out for part 2 when I will be sharing ideas on how to incorporate easy self-care routines and rituals into your life. Follow @karibu365 on IG or go to karibu365.com to purchase natural skin-care products.