Self-care: What is it?

What does “self-care” mean? I hear this term used so much this time of year that I wonder if it's lost some of its meaning.  

Until recently, it was always about general fitness and wellness to me, with a little spa-envy thrown in.  Exercise gives me mental clarity and an uncanny ability to process stress.  It obviously pays dividends as a #leader -- it makes me more adept at making useful, thoughtful decisions to move projects forward while also caring for the people involved.

I’ve had periods in my life when having time and space to just blow-dry my hair and pick out a fun outfit gave me the bump I needed to feel my best (hello, new mom!)  I always felt like it helped me be more playful, innovative, and efficient throughout the day.  

However, I’ve come to believe that my definition of self-care was limiting.  It was solely about physical well-being.

The book Designing Your Life by Stanford Design School professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, includes a four-category compass.  They recommend evaluating one’s life using the categories of WORK, PLAY, LOVE, and HEALTH.  By having lives where we feel filled-up in all four points on the compass, we can be high-performing in service of everything we care about.

This led me to consider… how often was I thinking about HEALTH as #selfcare, but not PLAY or LOVE?

This is NOT a self-loathing guilt trip about jam-packing more into an already overstuffed day.  Rather, it’s a reminder to myself that a moment of #art or #interpersonal connection just might supercharge me in the direction of a more #meaningful day.

Anybody want to join me in stretching out our #selfcare #newyearsresolutions a little bit further? Here are some ideas: read a poem, draw a picture, dance to music, have coffee with a friend, pluck an instrument, plant some seeds, throw a frisbee to a dog, crochet a potholder, or bake something new. What else can we add to this list? 

(Photo showcasing our bumper crop of cherry tomatoes from our December garden this year in Austin, Texas)