If you look at the various literature on self-care, you’ll find several definitions that look at lifestyle factors, physical and mental health and tips, from having Epsom salt baths to doing yoga.
These are all lovely and great. However, they focus on a set of tasks or goals, rather than a discovery process. In saying that, there is no right or wrong way to practice self-care.
Everything you do to look after yourself is going to help you function better and if all you do this week is get out of bed and brush your teeth, I’m delighted for you.
However, I want to talk with you a little about why I advocate for radical self-care.
How radical self-care differs
Radical self-care is not about what you do, but about how you do it. It’s about looking after yourself with intention every day.
It’s a discovery process or journey. And on that journey, you look for, find, notice and challenge things in your life that hold you back, get in the way, and keep you small.
So, as an example, when I booked myself into a hotel right at the start of my challenge, I had to be with all the stuff that came up around that task. I had to be with my guilt for feeling self-indulgent. I had to be with my emotional state, stuff that came up around my relationship and my desire to spend time with my partner. And then I did it anyway, and it felt enlivening.
And each day afterwards, I wrestled with “what am I going to do today to look after myself?” Some days it’s been easy. Some days it has been really hard.
But what I’ve discovered is, it’s the daily practice and the wrestling around what I’m going to do that has caused my experience of life to shift profoundly, much more than the tasks themselves.
An invitation to you
If you’d like to kick-start your own radical self-care practice, I invite you to do the free 180Selfcare 7-Day Self-care Challenge. And I’d love to hear from you about what breakthroughs you experience while practising intentional self-care. You can reach out to me on Instagram.
And if you share on social media, please use the hashtag #180selfcare and tag me too. I want to cheer you on!
