Self-Care Is Self-Leadership

No one is coming to save you from yourself. You are in control of how you create your future, because you are the only one who can think for you.

To achieve our goals in business and life, we must be curious about our thoughts. Our thinking shapes our choices, our choices shape our actions, and our actions shape our results.

Yet self-care is often one of the first areas of our lives to be neglected.

We are all the leaders of our lives. Whatever you want to create in your life won’t just happen by itself. You need to take charge of your life to make it happen, and it all begins with your thinking.

Putting urgent work first, or prioritising other people’s problems, is often the default position before there is time for self-care. The thought we have around this may be that it is selfish, that there is no time, or that it is not as important as helping someone else.

I see myself in three different ways. Past Wendy. Present Wendy. Possibility Wendy.

Past Wendy was masterful at not looking after herself. There was always so much to do. Work and family responsibilities always took first place, and not always in that order.

I remember watching the TV show ‘24’ and being hooked on the idea that if this agent on the show could go for more than 24 hours without sleep and still catch the bad guy, then surely I could survive on four or five hours of sleep a night.

That faulty thinking led me to work more, control more, gain weight, eat poorly and compromise my health.

I ended up not being able to help others as well as I cared to, because I was not well enough to even look after myself.

Self-Care Is Not Just Time Out

Multiple factors influence our thinking. Our beliefs, values, memories, education, and health are key elements that shape our daily thoughts. These factors affect the decisions we make, and every choice carries consequences.

How we think about self-care shapes how we practice it in our everyday lives.

Self-care is not just taking time out to chill. It is not just holidays, massages, hobbies or taking time away from work. These activities are all valuable, but they are only a part of the bigger picture of self-care.

For self-care to be self-leadership, it requires a different mindset to define what it means for you.

The big picture of self-care includes elements such as:

• Having clear boundaries

• Developing habits that support a healthy lifestyle

• Making conscious choices

• Taking responsibility for your decisions

• Paying attention to the meaning you give situations

Self-care is the foundation of self-leadership.

Read more here, starting with Our Thinking Influences Our Results