For a lot of us self-care usually includes exercise, meditation and diet. But what we don’t realize is that this definition of self-care is limited. That’s not to say that these things don’t help, but there are lot more things to address to have a more holistic approach to self-care.
Have you taken something off your plate yet?
A lot of us tend to get into a rat race believing working that hard will eventually give us true happiness. However, unknowingly we may be over burdening ourselves. This slowly leads to us operating on an auto pilot mode until one day things get too overwhelming! We only tend to realise it when circumstances go out of our control. As much as one may hate to leave things behind, it is something that needs to happen. Taking something off of your plate is the self-care missing in lot of peoples’ lives.
Time to Redefine Self-Care
True self-care is deciding if you are going to accept whatever is causing you discomfort or if you are going to change it. A lot of times, we tend to convince ourselves that things are all okay, and continue to keep up life in a hustle state like that. Letting go of stuff can make you feel like yourself again. Additionally, it’s so important to have a support system who can take some of the weight off of your shoulders.
Self-care could be redefined to community self-care. Community self-care is about having people in your life who are there for you when you need it most.
If you were to take a step back & reflect on your life, you will notice that there’s no way that one could have done all of the things they are doing by themselves without getting burned out. You cannot do it all, especially not alone. You need a support system in life if you are going to make it through anything.
Prioritize your support system and get comfortable asking for help. A lot of us consider asking for help as a sign of weakness, but it isn’t. Become aware that you cannot do all things by yourself. You need to not take on so much for the sake of your own mental health. Self-care is deeper than a lot of us even realize. It’s more than daily wellness habits (even though those are important).
True self-care encompasses honesty, community, sacrifice, empathy and commitment to making choices in your best interest. This means we need to have allies for each other. Working with a life coach can help one embrace this new self-care and overcome mental blocks towards asking for help, sharing our feelings openly etc.
The current covid situation has given us time to reflect upon our current situation and identify areas where you want to put your energy into. Let these be things that can give you life, not things that make you question every decision you made in your future. If it doesn’t fit in with your life vision, it’s not worth giving your energy to it.
To sum up, If you’re burned out and you’ve tried the self-care methods, there are three things you need to do:
- Stop fighting whatever’s burning you out
- Let it go for your own sanity.
- Engage with a life coach who can help facilitate this new approach to self-care for you
Is there anything you need to let go of?
