There are a wide variety of demands placed upon us every single day. Things that tax our mind, heart, body, and spirit. It’s easy to focus on everyone and everything around you and to forget about caring for yourself. To fully practice self-care, you must know what it is.

What Is Self-Care?

Self-care is being focused on nurturing and fostering internal growth. It’s about bringing about the best in yourself. It involves clearing the cobwebs out the closet – financially, socially, mentally, emotionally and physically. In other words, you need to determine what stands in your way and take a stand to save your own life.

Self-care is:

• Taking care of yourself and bringing balance back to your life – all to improve the quality of your life.
• Pouring all the care and nurturance that you give to others into yourself instead.
• Finding supportive and nourishing relationships.
• Eliminating the clutter and making your environment nourishing for the soul.
• Taking care of things that you have been avoiding.
• Saying “no.”
• Doing things for yourself that nourish your mind, body, and spirit.

Even with a clear definition of self-care and all the tools that can make it simple, there are many reasons why people still think they can’t take care of themselves. And in most cases, they are wrong. Let’s explore some of the most common self-care myths.

The Top 5 Self-Care Myths Debunked

Self-Care Myth #1: It’s selfish.

Fact: No one will care if you don’t do it yourself. If you are the primary caretaker of your family and something happened to you, what would happen to your family? You need to create self-sufficiency in those around you and understand that people can function without you.

Self-Care Myth #2: No one understands me or wants to help!

Fact: You may not be asking for what you need. You may have been letting people walk all over for a long time. You need to enlist help in achieving your extreme self-care and you can’t expect others to just automatically know what you need. Start small, share your honest feelings with those around you, and help them understand how they can best support you. Believe it or not, people truly want to support you, they just need you to tell them how.

Self-Care Myth #3: There is no time.

Fact: Organizing and caring for your life ultimately creates more time. If you start taking care of yourself you will create more self-sufficiency in those around you, which should also free up your time. In addition, when you say you don’t have time, what you’re really saying is that it’s not a priority. It’s amazing what you can find time for in your life when you treat it as a priority.

Self-Care Myth #4: It’s too expensive.

Fact: A walk outside is free. So are deep breaths, self-massages, turning off screens, drawing, reading, petting an animal, and touching your toes. There are numerous things you can do that are free or inexpensive to care for yourself. In fact, just having quiet time alone where you won’t be interrupted for 20 minutes can be incredibly healing and soothing for your body and your mind.

Self-Care Myth #5: I’ve already tried this self-care stuff and it didn’t work.

Fact: Knowing and doing are two very different things. Extreme self-care is a holistic philosophical approach to life, not just one activity or one stalled effort. Perhaps you went too big too fast. Maybe you tried something that you didn’t know a lot about and it left you frustrated. Start with something small – a walk alone (without your phone), a hot bath or shower, a 5-minute meditation, 10 deep breaths, stretching, or even reading for 5 minutes. These small wins will set you up for larger ones and encourage you to keep going.

The Benefits of Self-Care

Taking care of yourself starts a cascade of positivity leaving you feeling less angry, stressed, or anxious. Making a commitment to yourself and your well-being is making a commitment to improving your life. When we take time to nurture ourselves, we naturally take care of others more effectively – the world, the environment, our family, and our community. You will be a better partner, a better mom or dad, a better coach, a better friend, and overall a better you because you make self-care a priority.

So, take some time to care for yourself – to reconnect with who you are and what you need in this moment. What will you do to practice self-care today?

Want to learn more about self-care? Head here How to Create a Self-Care Routine That Works!