08 Jun 2021

There's a fine line between taking care of yourself and overindulging. I’ve noticed that there’s a misguided and misconstrued notion between what “me time” actually means, so here I am to tell you about what I’ve learnt, how I’m still learning on what self-care is for me and why it matters.

Self-care is more about nourishing your body, mind and soul without affecting your mental or physical well-being. Think more about living healthy, finding ways to relax, taking a walk, getting enough sleep.

But there’s a point where focusing on yourself becomes unproductive and perhaps even pointless. If the long-term overall effects are worse than the immediate gratification and little enjoyment you get, then that's not self-care. This is more like sinking down shots at a party at 12:03am, knowing you’ve got work at 9:00am the next day and a gruelling hangover to look forward to. This is self-indulgence.

The line for me gets blurred when it’s the smaller things that happen everyday that have unknowingly been integrated within my routine. I used to think binging a Netflix series [staring at a TV all day], eating fast-food for lunch [health decreasing], sleeping in everyday [also going to bed late] and focusing on distractions [not addressing my mental health] was self-care. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. We’re all human and love the above. I’m not saying cut it all out from your life. But I do reckon that they are short-term, minimal, exciting things to look forward to. When you make that leap, start focusing on the important things and properly start taking care of yourself, believe me, it’ll make the difference. You’ll look forward to those little guilty pleasures without having a dependency on them. You’ll be able to turn off the television and think, let’s do something that I thoroughly enjoy doing. You’ll get a good night's sleep, wake up before your alarm goes off and think wow, I feel amaaaazing.

I truly advocate that sometimes, self-care can be tiring every now and then. The idea of exercising frightens me but actually doing it makes me feel great and accomplished. I don’t get immediate gratification from running 14 minutes on an inclined treadmill but I know that I’ll end up looking fab in the long run (hot girl summer, here we come). Meaning, long-term gain outweighs the short-term pain, discomfort and frustration when it comes to self-care.

The real reason as to why self-care matters is because essentially, life is for living. You want to travel while you’re healthy. You want to take the time to start that book you’ve been wanting to read for months. You want to take your dog out for walks in the morning. You want to wake up with a purpose. You want to feel fulfilled and happy and with no regrets of wasting this time you have available.

There is no one formula for self-care but identifying activities that will support your wellbeing in the long run is a great place to start!