Imagine what would your life be like if you…

• Had more energy?

• Got sick less often?

• Found it easy to maintain a healthy weight?

• Handled stressful situations better?

• Were able to make your key relationships healthier?

• Felt happier?

• Found meaning, spirituality, and personal growth?

These are only some of the benefits of taking care of your health and well-being. Now consider how improving even one of these areas of your life would allow you to be better able to take care of your loved ones and your responsibilities.

While you are running around trying to take care of everything and everyone else, you might forget how health and overall wellbeing affects those around you. If you take care of you, you can gain:

• Energy to do what needs to be done, to take care of others, spend quality time with others

• Health/Immune Function to stay well to be there for others, accomplish tasks

• Focus to stay with the most important tasks, to help others, to give your full attention to those you care about

• An Easier Time Maintaining a Healthy weight which can affect your health and longevity directly and can allow you to focus on more important aspects of your life

• Equanimity  to handle stressful situations without “losing it”

• Ability to Maintain and Grow Healthy Relationships The health of your relationships starts with your energy, priorities, ability to calmly communicate

• Happiness/Joy to bring happiness and joy to others—like bad energy, good energy is also contagious!

• Other Aspects of Health and Wellbeing such as finding meaning, spirituality, personal growth to help you be a role model to important others in your life.

Take home message: Taking care of yourself is the opposite of selfish; it is vital to everyone around you. From this perspective it seems selfish to neglect taking care of yourself!

Some people fear if they take the time or resources (money, usually) to take care of themselves, they’ll be perceived as selfish. If there’s any money or time we feel like we’re supposed to be spending it on our families or work. We forget that we, too, are part of the family who deserves health and well-being. We may also forget that we are not robots who can work unlimited hours at full potential. We don’t give our loved ones a lot of credit if we don’t even give them the chance to support us in becoming healthier and happier. As for work, ask yourself if you had more energy and focus if you could actually put in fewer extra hours.

I haven’t mentioned the term “self-care” since its image is a little problematic–it might conjure the luxury of a spa day (and, indeed, could include a spa day). Yet, truly taking care of oneself encompasses so much more: from proper sleep, nutrition, exercise, to nourishing relationships, creating meaning and living according to your own moral compass.

I hope you will join me on a journey towards greater health and well-being. For one-on-one help, contact me for a free health coaching consultation on FaceTime from anywhere!