The importance of self-care is best described using an analogy from air travel. Before takeoff, you always hear the flight attendant say “put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you help the person next to you”. The reason is to ensure you’re in a position of strength, and from that strength you can tend to the needs of others. But if everyone tries to save each other, it doesn’t help anyone. Life is no different. When you ensure that your own needs are taken care of, you build positive momentum and abundance – not just for yourself – but for all you come in contact with. Materially and time-wise you might be in a position to share, but more importantly, your healthy and balanced presence gives hope, stability, and encouragement to those around you to do the same for themselves. Of course, sometimes circumstances dictate that you give more than you receive and vice versa. But it’s vitally important to be in tune with what constitutes an equal exchange of giving and receiving, and to make appropriate changes whenever you sense one or the other is out of balance.
Look at your current life situation and assess where you can do a better job at prioritizing self-care, and what that may look like. This could be as simple as taking your journal or post-its, and making a list before bed time of three things you plan on doing for yourself the next day, as well as three things for others. At the end of the day, revisit your list and check off the things you were able to do, and write down how each act of giving and receiving made you feel. This can be part of your daily journaling practice.
