Self-care

One of the podcasts I listen to is called We Can Do Hard Things and it is hosted primarily by Glennon Doyle, joined by her wife Abby, and her sister Amanda. One of their recent episodes talked about the best advice they were ever given. There was plenty of great advice, some of which I’ve already received and have been such game-changers.

Then there are those pieces of advice you’ve heard and continue to hear again and again but you never really get around to applying to your life. I think that self-care is that for me. I do know how important it is for wellbeing, but I honestly have not been able to make this an earnest priority in my life. Perhaps it could be feeling guilty about taking a break. Maybe it stems from thinking too much about what people think, ‘Should I be hustling 24/7?’. Perhaps it’s how our generation was raised – that to be loving, we needed to be self-sacrificing.

I’ve heard of the common metaphor for self-care, the one where if there was an emergency on the plane and the oxygen masks were made available, one should always first don the oxygen mask to oneself before attempting to help anyone else. It is a powerful and compelling metaphor.

For those in caring roles, such as student parents, but also anyone who is caring for a parent, a grandparent, a sibling, or a close friend, sometimes it’s hard to recognize that self-care truly is essential to being able to care for others, especially those who depend on you. Self-care is ‘for the good of the realm’, as was deliberated over the podcast episode. To serve others effectively, you need to serve yourself too, and that means looking after yourself, for the good of the realm.

Take a nap, for the good of the realm. Light a candle and go have your mindfulness moment, for the good of the realm. Go dancing, for the good of the realm.

For the good of me.

“My goal is to live for my realm, not die for my realm.”Anonymous