In our hectic day-to-day lives, it can be hard to find time to prioritize our own needs.  We recognize the benefits of self-care, and we fully understand that you “can’t give from an empty cup,” yet it seems impossible to find a place for ‘you’ on your to-do list. Well, as much as I wish this blog was a big reveal on how to manipulate time and add an extra hour between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., unfortunately it’s not. The hard truth is, “you will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” And sure, that seems easier said than done. How do you make time when yours is limited to begin with? Well, for that, fortunately there is a big reveal…

It starts with YOU.

The key to making time for yourself is changing the way you view self-care. It’s not just important, it’s a necessity. Self-care is the task of doing what needs to be done to preserve our health and well-being. As soon as you decide that self-care is no longer an option, but a requirement, you’ll find the time for it. You must be to work on time, so you do it. You must take the kids to school, so you do it. You must run that errand before the store closes, so you do it. See a pattern? You always do what needs to be done – that’s how we get through school, work, parenting, and all our other life requirements.

Change your mindset.

It’s not easy to create this mindset in the beginning. We’ve been trained to think that self-care is indulgence. Plus, when you are doing something for yourself you don’t have to answer to anybody else. This means there are no repercussions if you don’t get the job done, making it’s easy to slack off. But when we disconnect from self-care, we are unhealthy individuals. Allowing yourself to get burnt out, or to stop growing spiritually and intellectually, can cause major consequences. Feelings of stress and being “stuck” can lead to depression, insomnia, unhealthy decision-making, heart disease, and plenty of other serious ailments. For a lot of our clients, feeling stressed out is what led to their DUI arrest.

To help shift your mindset on how you view self-care, call it “necessary-care” instead. This way you are removing any association with selfishness or self-indulgence. You’re now training your brain to see it as essential. And think of your well-being as its own entity, outside of yourself, like your boss or your loved ones. It’s something that you must answer to, and show up for, every day, or else you’ll face serious complications. If you neglect your well-being, you lose your health and your happiness – you lose your BEST self.

And, once you are committed to making time for yourself a mandatory task on your daily to-do list, read our follow up blog for ideas on mapping out your day, to incorporate physical, mental, and spiritual self-care!