We Really Need To Stop Falling For This
Have you noticed that we have a nation of superstar women who are burnt-out, exhausted, and, yes, nag a little too much?
I believe one of the culprits is the bum information we got about how to "take care of ourselves."
It’s unsurprising, what with the media-driven expectations to bring home the bacon, fry it in a pan, AND never let you forget you’re a man back in the 70s, that we got a little tired.
That's when we were thrown "self-care," the proverbial bone in the form of a spa day, a night out with the girls, an uninterrupted bubble bath, and the like.
While a bandaid is an obvious solution to an innocent sore, the rub came when women internalized the idea that a closet full of them should be enough to combat a self-inflicted wound requiring stitches.
For how long do you feel energized after “loving yourself” with a massage? Does it prevent you from wanting to lose your sh** on family members or people at work? I didn't think so.
Self-care, in my book, results in prolonged peace of mind, energy, inspiration, even-tempered joy, and happiness. It results in a flow state.
No one-off activity can induce a prolonged state of anything; even the oxytocin dump in the brain while falling in love only lasts so long.
Self-care is not an activity. Self-care is the commitment to the necessary internal and external actions allowing the activity. The golf game, the spa day, the girls' weekend, the boundless energy, and the inspired life are natural progressions of self-caring (yes, it’s a verb).
Here are just a few Self-Care tips guaranteed to work:
Start overriding guilt in favor of taking the time you need.
End and leave your meetings on time. You have nothing to prove.
Give the people in your life the dignity to make their "mistakes" without rescue.
Tolerate things not going perfectly in favor of empowering others and preserving energy.
Stop nagging. You hate yourself when you do it, so stop it.
Stop complaining. It’s disempowering and makes you feel like a victim.
Feel pride when you do any of the above.
If this sounds simultaneously blissful and blasphemous, and you're ready to go from Hot Mess Express to Awakened, Aligned Action, sign up for my video course From Hot Mess to Harmony HERE.