Making Sure We Get What We Need by Practicing Self-Care

How often do we take time to get what we need? It’s so easy to get lost chasing what we want. Things to make life more fun, more entertaining, or looks more plentiful and successful?

While it’s a blessing to reap the material rewards of hard work, commitment and dedication, it’s never sufficient enough without meeting the essential needs for our spiritual and emotional health.

Ask ourselves, “If life were to throw me a wicked curveball and I was stripped of the decorations that give the social illusion of happiness and success (ie. job, car, house, trips), would I still feel content? Would I still be able to feel joy? Be honest with your answer.

I believe the Covid lockdown of 2020 was a unbiased, indiscriminate and merciless reckoning of what our life truly is without all the external bells and whistles. External validation was unavailable and no amount of wishing or complaining or demanding could change anything!

We had no choice but to witness the reality of our internal and external life balance.

It’s important to routinely ask what do we really need to feel content with our life? I believe self-care is an essential factor.

Everything we want is temporary and can be stripped away. Everything we need is constant. Give effort to what we need to feel whole.

Self-care seems to conjure the images of selfish indulgence, pampering, lazy days, and an abundance of zero responsibility. It’s much more than that.

While self-care does include a good dose of special care to bring a sense of calm and relaxation to our life, it’s taking it a step farther to incorporate daily rest, solitude and extra attention for spiritual, physical, mental and emotional rejuvenation so as to not hit burnout which demands an overdue break.

Self-care is the self love for who we are not what we have. Self-care can be found in good nutrition, hydration, exercise, and 7-9 hours of sleep. Finding activities that engage our curiosity and interest, are meaningful and offer a sense of achievement that connects to our humanity as opposed to social approval.

It’s easy to get caught in the trap of pursuing what we want yet it’s an inevitable truth that no amount of getting what we want contributes to the sense of peace, satisfaction and comfort of pursuing the things we need. Because what we need is rooted within us and can never be stripped by losing material things that falsely promise happiness in life.

What we need is good emotional health that’s found in a sense of purpose beyond the material world. It’s nourished by some kind of faith or the belief that we’re here for something bigger than the stuff we acquire.

So if you’re feeling like there’s something lacking in your life and you can’t place your finger on it, maybe it’s time to take stock in your life to see if you’re really getting what you need to find joy in your life. Then take time to go find what that is to help you refresh and restore a quality of life that feels meaningful and what you truly deserve. ❤️

Keep it Simple,

Just Teri

Advertisement