Throughout the month of October, we’re giving members and friends of The Inspiration Lab teachings and tools for self-care.
Self-care is serious business — and I should know. My medically fragile son needs me (and my husband) to be as healthy as possible. Our caregiving for him could span the length of our lifetimes. It was Oliver’s diagnosis that sparked my personal self-care journey. I realized quickly that in order to give him the care and life he needed, I had to avoid burnout. I now subscribe to a proactive lifestyle of self-care.
I believe self-care isn’t selfish. It’s strategic.
It’s also smart.
Contrary to popular belief, true self-care takes discipline and sacrifice. The self-care superstar who has been at it for a while knows self-care is only 5% indulgent and 95% hard work. It’s tempting to focus on the 5%... massages, bubble baths, wine, a chick flick, mani-pedis. But it’s more than that.
Over the course of this month, and with the help of our Girl’s Guide author Lisa Brooks, we hope to convince you a self-care lifestyle means doing things you maybe don’t want to do, but will be well worth it to you and all those who count on you.
We’ll be taking a deep dive into the 10 Principles of Self-Care at our Banner Year Blueprint workshop for members on October 9.
The 10 principles are:
Identify the Type of Stress
Proactive vs. Reactive
Self-Awareness
Time Management
Energy Management
Rest & Refuel
Boundaries
Work-Life Rhythm
Community
Gratitude
Within the principles of self-care, there are specific practices you can implement. Here’s a practice you can start doing TODAY, from the Energy Management principle:
By the time you go to bed each day, aim for full hydration, which is often recommended to be eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, the old 8x8 rule. I drink room-temperature water, because I can drink it faster and it trains me to not always have things ice cold. Some also argue it could be better for you than drinking very cold water. Hydrating helps maintain energy, and energy management matters so much because you can use high energy levels to compensate for a lack of time. Time is a non-renewable resource, but energy is not (PTL!) For example, when I’m struggling to get all my work done and I’m short on time, the things that help me get everything completed are my energy and focus, not necessarily the minutes on the clock.
Hydration is so simple that you can easily overlook it. Don’t let the obviousness fool you. Many of the most profound self-care practices in life are not complicated. The hard part is actually doing them.
I look forward to taking this conversation beyond the bubble bath and into real-life transformation. I am practicing these strategies and living this lifestyle in real time, and I’m ready to do it right along with you. I hope you’ll truly consider starting your own lifestyle of proactive self-care — today. This could be one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your entire life.
Stay tuned for ways to dive deeper into self-care this month, and for now, go get a big tall glass of water and drink up!
