Self Care Looks Different Every Day

We humans tend to love patterns and habits. Once we get into a self-care routine, we might slip into auto-pilot mode and just coast on with our life. And then you get hit with a curveball. You keep practicing your self care routine but a weird feeling creeps in… Is this even working anymore? You feel increasingly frustrated and discontent. Annoyed, with a capital A. 

I once exclaimed to a friend “I don’t get it!!! I’m doing ALL the self-care. Shouldn’t I feel better??” She replied with something that stopped me in my tracks. “Maybe that isn’t working because it’s not what you need right now.” She gently encouraged me, asking, “ What else could you try?” 

Self care is as radical as it is intimate. Wouldn’t it be lovely if all self care looked like drawing a bath or lighting candles and throwing on some music? In reality, it requires you to check-in… and I mean REALLY check-in with where you are, on that day, at that moment. Maybe for you it does look like lighting a few candles and sipping tea. But maybe you are nourished by that blissed out feeling after a yoga class or repotting your plants gives you energy. That’s okay too! 

Do you count vacuuming or scrubbing the dishes as self care? Keeping a budget, taking a walk, scheduling your time-- these are all acts of self-care because they involve responding to your needs, for your life at your capacity. 

So, I’m writing some questions for all of us to use. Help yourself to whatever resonates: 

• How am I really feeling today? 

• Would it feel better to move my body or find some stillness? 

• What is my capacity to express creativity right now? 

• What nourishes my spirit? 

• Will I feel more or less energized after this activity? 

• What am I grateful for? 

• Do I need to check in with my community?

Asking ourselves these questions, we get a better sense of how to respond to our own needs. Self care looks different every single day because our needs are different every single day. I hope you find some time to connect with yourself and your needs today. 

Let’s all collectively take care.