I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people lately about self care.

As we approach the pointy end of the year it seems many people are holding their breath waiting for the big exhale on Boxing Day, hoping to spend time engaging in self care activities when the festive season has passed.

It’s surprising though that so many people talk about self care as if it’s something that’s a bit selfish, naughty, decadent, and belongs down the bottom of the ‘things to do’ list.

Self care is actually far from selfish. Things that are selfish are those we do in spite of their impact on other people. Things we do purely for our own sake.

Self care on the other hand, involves the things we prioritise in our lives which ‘fluff ourselves up’ (as my mentor Petrea King likes to say). Good self care is an enabler – that is, it fluffs us up and enables us to be the best version of ourselves possible, therefore contributing not just to our own lives but also to those around us.

Think about the things in your life that enable you to be the best possible version of yourself?

You might notice that going for a 30 minute walk in the morning allows you more patience with the people you encounter in your day
When you make time to meditate you might be less reactive and more thoughtful of others
When you eat and sleep well you’re bound to have more resilience and an increased capacity to cope with the challenges life brings

These are just some examples of self care activities you might like to try – or even better, take a few moments to consider the activities in your life which enable you to feel better? What are the things that fluff you up?

Rather than holding your breath all year in the hope of a good dose of self care in your holiday break, maybe there are small self care activities you can add to your day and your week. Bringing self care to the top of your to-do list may in fact enable you to more effectively address the rest of the list, but only by caring for yourself as a very important priority.