4 Reasons to Prioritize Self-Care

With the everyday hustle and bustle, including obligations to family and work, it’s easy to lose focus on what is important to you. This can be true for those in different stages and life situations. Perhaps you’re a student who has a stack of projects to complete, a newly hired employee wanting to make a good impression, a busy parent shuffling kids to and from school, or a senior who has recently retired learning to adjust to life in the slow lane. Regardless of where you fall, it’s important to stop and make time for self-care.

Self-care is a series of behaviors which you do specifically for yourself. These activities are for mental or physical maintenance and betterment. However, when life gets hectic, it can be easy to neglect these from your routine and look at them as simple luxuries that slowly tumble-down toward the bottom of your list of priorities. Before you begrudgingly agree to volunteer to bake 100 cupcakes for the community bake sale or pass up the opportunity for a weekend getaway to earn extra kudos at the office, consider these four reasons and tips to put yourself first.

1. Treat Yourself

There are many activities you can do to help boost your mood. Everyone has special activities that boost their mood, whether it is making time to vent to a trusted therapist, indulging in a candlelit bubble bath while reading a favorite book, or planning a week-long holiday on a private island. Taking the time to do these things can help you decompress, refocus your thoughts, feel rejuvenated, and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed. Someone who is recharged can likely have more energy and motivation to tackle their to-do list.

2. Look Better

Part of self-care is nourishing your body with wholesome food, good hygiene, and regular exercise. When outside responsibilities begin to take precedence, it can be easy for some people to use them as an excuse to turn to bad habits like eating cheap fast food or not getting enough sleep. Instead of staying up late scrolling social media and then waking up to a sugary breakfast, you can choose an alternate scenario. Perhaps meditate before bed and establish a better sleep routine, then enjoy a healthy breakfast made the day before. Comb your hair, brush your pearly whites with a multi-benefit toothpaste like Colgate Total SF, and head out the door looking and feeling refreshed.

3. Improved Health

With healthcare costs and time that must be taken from work, it can be easy to neglect your health. While meditating and using multi-benefit toothpaste are definitely steps in the right direction, making the time for regular doctor’s appointments and dental checkups are something that everybody should add to their routine. Not only will you feel better, but regular checkups can be very effective in detecting potential problems before they become more difficult and expensive to remedy.

4. For Others

While the definition of self-care is to take care of yourself, the benefits that result from it are not for you alone. When you take the time to prioritize your safety, hygiene, health, happiness, and fulfillment, you are better able to present the best version of yourself to your workplace, friends, family, and the world.

To motivate yourself to prioritize self-care, it can be helpful to visualize how it can affect life in general. For example, imagine the following outcomes: That busy student who had a nutritious breakfast has fueled her brain for that big exam; That newly hired employee got a full night sleep and is alert, energetic, and productive; That busy parent made sure to get those annual checkups so he could live a long life to be there for his children as they grow up; That recently retired senior made it a habit to go to the gym every morning to catch up with friends and keep her body strong. Self-care is not simply a luxury. It is a necessity.