Self Care is not a Luxury, It's a Priority

In my twenties, "Self-care" has been a hot topic. My own self-care rituals have changed in the past few years and even though I've been great at the nutrition and fitness part, I neglected a lot of other pieces of the "self-care" puzzle. Recently I have made my self-care more of a priority because I noticed people to who admire or look up to MAKE TIME for self-care. We are all busy and we can all think of about 100 other things we NEED to spend money and time on more than a dentist appointment. For an entrepreneur like my myself who puts in my 40 hours at my day job and then countless hours on my business, I really needed to raise the bar for my own self-care.

I decided to ignore a lot of appointments and check-ups when I was in university. I was a student, stressing about school, working and focused on fitness competitions. When I started working I didn't have benefits so it didn't even cross my mind to look after myself. I "couldn't" because I didn't have the time or money. This wasn't really the issue deep down, I didn't feel like it was worth spending time or money on or I didn't deserve it. I kept thinking "the soreness in my shoulders and headaches will go away," or "my skin will get better at some point." We all neglect ourselves from time to time and it took my body screaming at me a few times to finally listen.

Now I am lucky that along with my businesses, I do have a full-time job  that gives me benefits. Having these benefits has given me a huge kick in the butt to take better care of myself. But not all self-care is covered by benefits. Self-care is also doing things for yourself like getting your hair cut or shopping for new clothes that boost your confidence. I remember many times I would just envy people when they had nice hair or were going to the spa and believed it was because they had "more time" or lots of extra money to spend. Neither of these things were true. They just made these things a priority in their lives because it made them feel good and they valued this type of self-care.

So let's get personal with this topic because I can talk around
this topic all day, but I want to
genuinely share my current experience. So here comes the REAL TALK. Apart from finally making it the dentist and eye doctor this year (it had been awhile), I finally decided to seek help from a naturopath. I had been avoiding this for years because I did not want to hear the cold hard truth. I didn't want to hear that I screwed up my body from countless fitness shows and strict dieting. I did not want to hear that my hormones were imbalanced and it may effect my future plans to have children, I did not want to hear that it would take time, effort and commitment to myself to recover. But I decided it was time to take control of my health and wellness because it did not have to be a LUXURY, it should be a priority. I've changed my diet and am incorporating vitamins and supplements to cleanse and heal my body. I am also making an effort listen to my body in terms of muscle aches and pains and giving it what it needs to perform optimally, without burning myself out or over training.

I am extremely glad that I am getting over the "guilt" of spending time and money on myself for this type of self care. It not only has helped my health, mood and well-being, but it has increased my overall self-worth. I am happier helping others because I have helped myself. I have more energy physically from my diet and supplement changes and also have more mental energy to deal with everyday stresses. I schedule time out of my week for my appointments and I don't feel bad about it, because like grocery shopping weekly and showering daily, it's now a top priority!

I hope you have enjoyed today's topic and that you can find ways to step up your self-care routine! It can definitely make a life-long change in our lives and set us up for success and self-love that translates to all areas and phases of life!

Kelsey xo