Nurture Wellness Village

We are often reminded to help others, to take good care of our families, and strive to do well in our jobs. These are actually good advice. Unfortunately, we sometimes try to do all those things and forget to take care of ourselves, treating this as the least of our priorities.

The thing is, it’s hard to give something away when you don’t have it in the first place. As inspirational writer, Eleanor Brownn, explains, “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. YOU CANNOT SERVE FROM AN EMPTY VESSEL.”

Yes, we are expected to take on our responsibilities seriously. But we must not buy into the misconception that a good woman MUST sacrifice herself to serve our loved ones before we serve ourselves.

What many women have yet to realize is that, “It’s possible to have equal concerns for yourself and for your loved ones. These aren’t always conflicting priorities.” (Ethel S. Person, MD, author of Feeling Strong: The Achievement of Authentic Power). Remember, there is no strict rule in life that only one person can do one specific task at any one time.

According to psychology experts, although more people are now aware about how important self-care is, a lot of individuals don’t do it enough because they don’t know how! “There’s a perception that there’s a right way to do self-care [and] a lot of people put self-care in their routine as a forced thing. Then they feel tired out from it, and forget the fun stuff,” an article in PsychCentral points out.

What we all need to understand is that self-care IS the fun stuff. It is letting yourself do whatever you want to do that makes you happy. In addition, listen to your mind and body when they tell you they need a break. Being overwhelmed with responsibilities will not make you very productive anyway and you’ll end up being more frustrated.  So take time to do something that will relax you!

Here are some suggestions:

• Close your eyes for 60 seconds and think of a funny conversation you recently had with someone you love
• Stand up from your workstation and take a few minutes walk.
• Have a long and leisurely bath.
• Watch a movie you’ve been wanting to see.
• Have a well-deserved massage. Nurture Wellness Village offers various packages that were created to rejuvenate one’s mind and body.
• Schedule longer breaks like an overnight hotel stay or a three-day trip to the beach.

Remember, don’t push the thought of getting some “me-time” aside else you’ll completely forget about it. After a good break, you’ll find yourself more energetic and more than ready to take on the many tasks waiting for you at home and in the office.

Starting today, make sure to enjoy the benefits of self-care and keep in mind this advice by popular tennis coach, Carl Bryan: “Taking good care of YOU, means the people in your life will receive the BEST, rather than WHAT’s LEFT, of you.”