10 Reasons To Prioritize Self Care

Grow up. Don’t cry. Don’t quit. Think about others. A lot of us still hold dear phrases like these to help us conduct our day-to-day. We heard them from childhood, and they are repeated time and again as we grow into independent adults. However, adulthood comes with a whole load of different stresses.

Even as we practice being selfless, the cost is often not beneficial to our mental health. We push to be productive, past our limits every single day. A 2018 study found that 39% of U.S. adults felt more anxious than they did the previous year.

This only proves that there is less time to factor yourself into the grand scheme of things. In that vein, one of the most helpful things we can do for ourselves is self-care. If images of pricey yoga retreats and spa sessions come to mind, we are here to dispel those thoughts with ten reasons you must prioritize self-care.

Self-Care Recharges Us

There is nothing selfish about taking some time off. Time off can look different for everyone and does not have to comply with a certain standard. Think of a date night with your partner or resting during your lunch break. It feels good.

However, just because it feels good to you does not mean it denies others. Feeling good recharges us, filling us up with energy that can uplift those around us. The quality of our relationships is thus much richer because you are living the best version of yourself. In turn, our families, friends, and coworkers experience us as the full version of ourselves.

You Drain Others When Our Needs Are Not Met

Speaking of energy, when your needs are not met, it is easy to fall into a negative space. Space where you have less energy, more space for complaints, and a tendency to criticize others. You are someone else’s energy vampire.

The quality of your relationships, in turn, decreases as they are colored by unpleasantness. People respond better to you when you are much more fulfilled in your own life. If you do not find a healthy way to meet your want and needs and opt for selflessness, we hurt others in the process.

We Get Lost Due To Our Critical Inner Voice

What are we driven by? It’s essential to look at what drives us, especially in today’s culture of productivity and helpfulness. Ask yourself if what you do is genuinely what we care about or if it is just another way to make someone else happy?

A harsh, critical inner voice that lives in all of us tells us that anything we do for ourselves happy is selfish. It drives us to be perfect and happy for others and stops us from living our lives the way we want. Selfcare, on the other hand, will get rid of this voice that appears stuck on letting you live an inauthentic life.

When We Are Depleted, We Offer Nothing

We all have responsibilities that we must fulfill. However, prioritizing others’ needs and want before our own, we fall into the trap of going through the motions while on empty. Simply put, you are unable to be present at the moment at hand.

Therefore, tasks like helping out a friend, coworker, or something became something that we should do. Do not be fooled. This attitude shift will affect how you keep your romantic interests, how you interact or feel about your job. The lack of engagement as you operate in autopilot is fulfilling for no one involved.

You Lose Yourself in The Go Mentality

You cannot be everything to anyone. If you cram every minute of your day dedicated to fulfilling someone else’s needs, it’s easy for your self-worth to be quantified. However, if your worth is tied up in the things you do for someone else, what is your hard work worth to you/

When we fall into a go mentality cycle, it’s hard to enjoy our personal connections with others if we uplift the interests of self-sacrifice. Nothing you do will feel like you are indeed yourself. In the same vein, those who love us will fail to get to really know you.

Identify the Things That Matter

What is your approach to living? This might seem like a relatively easy question to answer, but it requires answering questions that challenge you. Tough questions will center answers that will identify the things that matter to you.

Remember that spending time with those who love you and those who would love to be with you is setting an intention. The result: a life you would like to be remembered by. Staying on top of your priorities will guide you on how to spend your time.

You Adopt a Gratitude Mindset

Self-care is taking the time to stop and smell the flowers. Focusing on the negatives of our lives while ignoring the beauty all around us is counterproductive. Even if unfortunate things seem to happen to us, you must work harder not to let them consume you.

Showing gratefulness to the positives will leave you with a gratitude mindset. You will be more appreciative of the small beauties around you. Moreover, with the rush of our current world, you must take a moment to be still and meditate more.

You Learn to Say No

Learning to say no is understanding that it is impossible to make everyone happy, which is a self-caring principle. Moreover, you prevent burnouts and see a marked improvement in your physical and emotional health.

You Learn To Have Time For Yourself

It’s easy to feel inspired when you take a moment to connect with yourself. For instance, eat lunch away from your desk or simply take some time away from your desk. This tiny change can shift your confidence and can help you to tap into your creativity.

Also, caring for your mind, body and spirit will leave you feeling more balanced. The time you use to eat healthily, get in a workout or do guided meditations is ample space to go deeper and feel present with yourself.

Improvement on Our Performance

Say you aren’t getting enough sleep or are not practicing good self-care. The result on your overall productivity will be wanting. If you do not put your needs first, you are more likely to be less productive and become less of an asset to others.