Self care versus self indulgence: which one are you practicing?

National Self Care Day is on July 24th. The reason why it's on this day (7/24) is because the benefits of intentional self care are felt 24/7. If you're practicing self care on a regular, or somewhat regular basis, you should be able to feel the difference all day, everyday.

So, this probably brings up a good question: what is self care?

Self care is the practice of taking an active role in improving and protecting one’s own well-being and happiness. This also includes doing the uncomfortable thing(s), that will ultimately add value to you. Common self care practices:

• waking up early/going to bed early
• listening to an uplifting podcast
• stretching or exercising daily
• taking care of your body
• reading

Self care can also look like a glass of wine on the couch, a comedy movie, taking a nap, enjoying your favorite snack or listening to less-than-uplifting music.

Huh? This may seem a little confusing. How can self care be so all over the place? Well, that's easy. As long as you are improving and protecting your own well-being and happiness, you're practicing self care. The hard part is when we cross the line and move into the realm of self indulgence.

Self indulgence is doing the easy thing that gives instant pleasure or a quick fix. In doing so, it will likely drain you in the long run. It's doing exactly what one wants in the moment, regardless of the negative impact it may have after. Common self indulgences:

• mindlessly scrolling social media
• eating too much/often in sweets and candy
• binge drinking
• watching hours of mindless TV...you get the idea

Often, self care gets overshadowed by self indulgence because we disguise our self indulgences as self care. For example, checking out to watch your favorite comedy series or movie for an hour or two to reset/regroup- probably self care. Checking out for an entire afternoon or multiple hours/days at a time to escape- probably self indulgence. We can teeter on the edges of the two, but ultimately we have to determine; is it bettering us or simply satisfying a current desire?

IOME focuses on one thing; guilt-free self care. Self care that supplies your mind, body and soul with what it needs in order to be your best self.

IOME can help you determine what self care should look and feel like for you. Of course it is different for every person and it should be modified to fit the individual. That's why we partner with over 50+ businesses to help you define your best self care practices (and at steep discounts)!

If you are someone who is not practicing self care and better yet, guilt-free self care, please reach out to us! We want to help. Our trained supporters can assist in identifying current self care or self indulging practices and help you determine whether its investing and protecting or fitting a desire in the moment.

Remember...

"You deserve the best because your loved ones deserve the best of you, not what's left of you."   - Becky Lauridsen, IOME Founder