It’s beautiful to give and do things for others. I believe that being in service for other people is one of the beauties of life. However, like the Italian saying goes “Too much is the same as too little” and when you give too much of yourself to others, the biggest downfall to this is that you can, in the process, neglect yourself.
In life, in order for you to preserve your mental and emotional sanity, it is important to strive for balance. Part of that balance comes with proper care of yourself. With this said, what is self-care? Self-care is the measures you take in order to ensure your well-being. This means you keep your mental state in check, your emotional state in check and your physical being in check. You do your best to be aware and mindful of where you are in life. You try to do something everyday that brings joy to you. You are always cultivating healthy relationships. You do your best to nourish your body with healthy foods. And very important is that you understand who you are, what your needs and wants are and your boundaries.
I would like to clarify that self-care doesn’t mean that you are never truly there for others and that you only think about yourself. No. I think that only thinking about yourself is shallow and it leaves you feeling empty because part of life is being there for others, loving others and sharing with others. There is a joy in building healthy relationships with others. The trick, though, to when you are there for others is not losing nor neglecting yourself in the process. The best way to avoid this is through self-care.
I challenge you to start implementing ways that you can start taking care of yourself. This will only add more health and well-being into your life.