Unfortunately, it’s not so common to find people who are truly good at balancing work productivity and taking time for self-care in a long-term way… or in any way for that matter. And those you do find, they’ve often had to do some real digging to figure it out. (Aka, yours truly!)
Whether currently or at another time in our lives, we’ve all made the excuse that we were too busy to take care of ourselves. And for some of us, we’ve had a wake-up call where our gift of health, and potentially even of life, came into question.
So let this be a reminder. Even when you’re busy, do the work to figure out how to keep up your self-care. I’m not saying your personal care routine needs to be perfectly complete each day or week or whatever your schedule, because it won’t be. But make sure the foundation is there, and invest the time to learn how to listen to your body’s needs, and do your absolute best to honor them.
If I had taken this advice? I’m going to bet I wouldn’t have needed to take 5 years to heal from burnout before I felt ready to get back to my energetic and happy self again. But now that I’ve gone through that journey, you can be sure I’ve got my self-care routines and boundaries at-the-ready to keep me balanced for whatever life throws my way 🙂
The question of whether self-care is realistic when you’re busy? That all depends on your priorities and how well you honor them.
Dear Brave Soul,
Below is one of my personal journal entries, and as such, I’ve not written it with the intention of an audience. I’ve decided to share some of these reflections with you based on two desires:
1) to remember I am not alone — sharing my raw thoughts and being vulnerable may allow me to connect with others who have similar thoughts/feelings/experiences (aka, I’d love to hear from you!)
2) to remember I am not my ego — I believe we all have a right to share our opinions. However, for much of my life, even still, it’s been difficult for me to express myself out of fear someone will respond negatively. Being vulnerable and opening up with my potentially esoteric, or even controversial, thoughts is me facing that fear, and I understand it may very well cause my ego pain.
To note, these entries are largely unedited, though if I’ve added/clarified anything, you will see a ‘[…]’.
Sincerely,
my Dying Ego
February 21, 2022
Last week felt amazing. I’m finally starting to believe in myself again on a certain level. I know I’ve got many more levels to climb, but it’s a huge start. Especially it happening after a week where I was feeling so down and it feeling like I made a complete 180, but even more so.
I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to make my daily self-care routines happen along with a productive work day, like ever ever. Because before when I was working productively, I wasn’t doing self-care, and since I’ve figured out self-care is kinda important, I haven’t been able to work productively, because burnout and a loss of faith in myself.
But what made last week even more amazing, was the fact that I oftentimes wouldn’t be [100%] consistent with my self-care routines, but I was more [consistent than I ever have been] with them! With the work, I recognized their importance and my need for them to keep me grounded, and so there was more incentive to do them, because I realized I’ve been training myself on them for a reason.
Author Bio: Hi, I’m Bethany! Over the past 12 years, I’ve been on a winding journey in search of healing. I created Love myHealth as an outlet to share my story and empower others. I’m passionate about all things health, but what intrigues me most, is the healing essence of an empowering mindset. Some of my favorite things in life include acro yoga, walking under the stars, life-changing conversations with strangers, and food (most notably: gluten-free pizza and nice cream.)