Increase your energy and well-being….and feel good about it.

If you were a car, when would you say was the last time you had an oil change? 

Sadly, our bodies are not equipped with a warning light that comes on when there’s trouble.

I was speaking with a coaching client today* and she told me that when I introduced the idea of self-care to her, she was very resistant to it. She attributes that resistance to what she calls ‘being a victim of self-care marketing’.

Are you also a victim of self-care marketing?

In many advertisements, self-care is touted as a luxury (fancy spas, hot-stone massages) or an indulgence (gourmet chocolate, vintage wine). When my client realized that, she drew a very powerful distinction: self-care is not self-indulgence.

Self-care is not about spending money in excess. It’s not selfish or shameful. Sure, spas and gourmet chocolate can be part of self-care for special occasions, but for most of us, our lifestyle cannot sustain luxurious indulgences regularly. Self-care, on the other hand, is sustainable on a day-to-day basis; look at it as regular maintenance.

Self-care is about getting your needs met in all areas so you can function at your best. It can include something as simple as taking 5 minutes every hour to clear your thoughts and stretch your body.

One of the reasons I enjoy coaching is that I love to teach and I love to learn; my clients learn from me and I learn so much from them. This particular client used the car analogy to further explain what she learned through our coaching sessions:

When a car needs an oil change, no one stops to ask whether it deserves it – that would be preposterous. And yet, when it comes to our own maintenance, we question it. Are we pampering the car by giving it an oil change? Of course not. And yet, when it comes to day-to-day care, we give our cars more attention than we give ourselves. Some people even go one step further; they pull up beside someone else and give all their oil to them, draining their own supply.

The funny thing is that we can always trade-in our car for a new one, but our body, mind and spirit – well, we’re stuck with those for a lifetime. Doesn’t it make sense that we give ourselves at least the same amount of care as we give our cars?

Are you still hesitant to make your self-care a priority?

I’ve talked about the importance of self-care extensively in the past, in my blog, newsletter, articles, and on radio and TV; but until my client shared the distinction between self-care and self-indulgence, I just assumed everyone would understand the importance of self-care and engage in it. Now I’ve learned that many ‘givers’, those wonderful, caring, tireless people who are there for everyone in their world except themselves, may still be resisting the idea.

Are you a ‘giver’ to others?

If this sounds like you, I want to urge you to get past the idea that self-care is about self-indulgence and that it is above and beyond normal self-maintenance. And I also want to dispel the myth that giving to ourselves somehow takes away from someone else; it’s really quite the opposite.

If this distinction helped you get on board like it did my client, I encourage you to take the next step and start making small changes in how you show yourself that you care.

Please share, what’s one small change you can make or one action you can take today for your self-care?

*I have my client’s permission to share this story