How To Prioritize Self-Care

I think we all know that prioritizing yourself is important. It’s important for our mental and emotional well-being, it’s important for our health, it’s even important for our families; “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” right?  The hang up is how to do it. There are obstacles we face, whether internal or external, that keep us from focusing on ourselves. In this article I’m going to teach you how to prioritize self-care and yourself.

Prioritize Self-Care By Starting Small

It’s not all or nothing. Some people think that practicing self-care is a major undertaking. It isn’t. You can start small. If you have no time, get up 15 minutes earlier to read a book or meditate. If money is an issue, go for a daily walk to clear your mind. Wait until the kids go to bed and take a bath and drink some wine if you have no support. There are small things you can do to take a little “Me” time. Start there and then expand later.

Overcome Guilt

This is a big one. You must overcome guilt to prioritize self care. Many people feel guilty or feel undeserving when it comes to putting themselves first. This can cause self-sabotage even if they have an opportunity to practice self care. They’ll make up excuses as to why they cannot do something for themselves. This is a bigger topic and I’m not going to go into too much detail on how to overcome guilt in this article but here are 2 quick tips.

1. Let go of trying to please everyone.
   1. Realize you are going to let some people down regardless, and try to come to grips with that.
2. Be Assertive
   1. If someone else is making you feel guilty, be assertive. Put your foot down.

Article continues below video.  Note: You Are Beyond Enough is Now Empowered and Thriving

Set Boundaries To Prioritize Self-Care

Setting boundaries is essential to self-care and making yourself a priority. You have to learn how to say “No” and draw a line in the sand. If you don’t set boundaries, other people and circumstances will ALWAYS control your time, your energy, and your life. Once you can set boundaries, your time will open up, you’ll have more energy, and you’ll have more control to focus on yourself and your self care.

Commit

Prioritize self-care and yourself by fully committing. Don’t just say to yourself, “oh I’ll do something when I get a chance.” Instead,  put it on your calendar. Schedule some “Me” time on your calendar and hold yourself to it. Otherwise, it’s easy to talk yourself out of it, or forget about it altogether.

You know that prioritizing self-care and yourself is important to living a whole, well-rounded and fulfilling life. Use these strategies to get started.

Why is it important to YOU to prioritize self care and yourself?