Self-care Myths Busted
Now it is time for a sort of my “myth busters” section of this series. Basically, all the excuses we make to not take care of ourselves. These are by no means exhaustive, but over the next few days I will be covering the the ones I have dealt with the most personally. If you have a myth you or experience you would like to share, please email blanketfortresistance@gmail.com
Let’s get started!
Myth #1: You can do everything. There’s a Leslie Knope quote in Parks and Recreation: “There’s nothing we can’t do if we work hard, never sleep and shirk all of our other responsibilities.” That is obviously a joke, but honestly, without being aware of it, that was how I lived my life. It’s absolute nonsense, but it is an easy trap to fall into.
So, let’s think this through to unpack this myth. Our time and energy are finite resources. I like to think about it as fossil fuels. There is a certain amount of crude oil available, and more will be produced in time, but not necessarily at the rate in which it is consumed. Therefore, it is necessary to budget what we do have. Additionally, as time passes, and technology, or our own mindfulness, advances, we are able to do more with less. You can use every last drop of what you have in the next 100 days, easily. Then you are stuck with no fuel. Literally, you are burnt out. The other option is to spread out over time, prepare for the marathon, and, likely, your energy and time will continue to go farther as your capacity increases. This is not a perfect metaphor, because we are not machines. (And we should, as a society, be weaning off of fossil fuels.)
But the point is we need time to rest. We cannot just go go go and expect to be able to keep up. Moreover, we do not have the capacity to push this hard without experiencing mental, emotional, and physical effects. Also, all of us have life responsibilities that we need to prioritize. It’s easy for me to get consumed in what I am working on and forget to text my best friends, cook myself dinner, workout, do laundry. I’m not married and I don’t have any kids-- but I can imagine that makes everything infinitely more complicated.
You need to take care of these parts of your life. Self care isn’t all bubble baths and bottles of wine-- it’s making sure you are brushing your teeth, feeding yourself. Sleeping. These things, and other important things in your life, need to be prioritized. This will look different for different people and that is OK.
We only have so many hours in a day and need to make sure that in that limited time we are taking care of ourselves and each other.