The Guilt of Self-Care

Self-care is my thing. There is this belief that women have that we shouldn't be entitled to self-care but that isn't true. Self-care is a necessity of life. It allows us to grow, create, and enjoy the life that we are living in. It allows us to replenish all that we give out in a day. But there is also a side to self-care that I don't talk about much. That no one really talks about much.

Self-care is a learning process. We have lived so many years without it that we forget how to do it. You are not going to wake up one day and have self-care figured out. You will fail. You will forget. AND THAT IS OKAY!!

It's okay to not enjoy what you chose for self-care. WHAT?? I know you are wondering if you read that right but I promise you, you did.

When I first began focusing on self-care, I chose things from my past that I loved doing. Specifically, I chose to get back into scrapbooking. It is something that I could get all my creative energies out. Plus, if you know anything about scrapbooking, it can be an expensive habit to get in to. So I started up again. BUT I didn't have the same passion for it as before. Actually, I HATED IT!! And the guilt that came along with that was tremendous.

I believed that I needed to enjoy this form of self-care. That because I had invested all of this money, I had to stick with it and this had to be my form of self-care. I am here to tell you that, you can quit that self-care choice if it is no longer enjoyable. Find something that you enjoy. It may take you a few tries to see what you enjoy. It is perfectly okay to outgrow something that you used to enjoy.

Make a list. Write down things that you used to enjoy doing and write another list of things that you want to try. Cross them off as you go if you do not like them. Self-care is meant to be enjoyable. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it. There is no need to feel guilty. Who you are as a person changes and so will your hobbies.

Give yourself a break. Remind yourself that self-care is meant to be enjoyable. If you forget, that is okay. Reschedule it. Play around, have fun, and create moments that are enjoyable to you. Self-care is personal.