Sometimes life can be hard – so let’s talk about it!
In the world of entrepreneurship, there can be an unhealthy focus on The Grind. You often find that a young entrepreneur is celebrated for “pushing themselves,” to a place that could be dangerous to their physical or mental health. People become obsessed with pushing their needs off to the side for the sake of the business. We admire the person getting 2 hours of sleep a night, or skipping meals to work, or never taking a vacation.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with working hard - I want people with dreams to wake up every day and fight for them - but if we talked about burnout every time we talked about Grind Culture, I feel like the conversation would be incredibly different. Working until you crash, and burn does nothing for you personally, and it can destroy your relationships with your family, friends, and yourself. I also feel like when we talk about self-care, the images that come to mind are immediately soft ones: someone in a bathtub with a facemask, or someone spending entirely too much on a spa treatment, or someone sleeping in and shirking work. I really feel like the term has been hijacked, so that when we think of self-care, we view it through a lens of weakness - it’s weak to take a break, it’s weak to slow down. Friend, there’s nothing further from the truth. Think of your body like a car, if you’re constantly going, going, going without a maintenance visit, you’re going to burnout, cause way more damage, and owe way more money to fix the problem.
So let’s redefine self-care - here are just a few ways to give yourself much-needed care and keep you functioning and far away from burnout.
1. Get Sleep
Everybody needs a different amount of sleep, but figure out what amount makes you feel most rested and shoot for that. But don’t forget that how you fall asleep can impact your energy just as much. When you’re getting ready for bed, develop a ritual that works for you. Put the phone down, meditate, whatever it takes to make you feel relaxed and intentional about rest.
2. Get Moving
On the other end of the spectrum, having a structured workout routine will help give you a boost of serotonin, give you something to look forward to, and will keep your body healthy. And when I say “workout routine,” I mean anything that gets you up and moving in a way you enjoy. Maybe it’s paddleboarding, or roller skating, or lifting. Whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it and find little ways to challenge yourself like paddleboarding at a new beach, learning a new skating move, or upping the amount you’re lifting.
3. Cultivate Your Community
Cultivating relationships is incredibly important to self-care. And this can include multiple relationships - your family, friends, mentor, or spiritual leader. And it doesn’t have to be huge, like taking your family on an expensive vacation. Maybe make one night a family dinner night where you all cook together, or set up regular drinks with a friend or mentor. Or maybe you volunteer in your religious community. Taking the time to actively care for the people around you and build those relationships will benefit you mentally and let you feel recharged and inspired to tackle anything work-related.
4. Take Care of Your Mental Health
Just because you’re caring for your physical health doesn’t mean you can neglect your mental health. Therapy is a wonderful tool to keep your mind healthy and can actively help you unlearn unhealthy coping mechanisms and replace them with ones that can help move you forward as a wiser, more well-rounded person.
If you take anything from this article, please let it be this: Self-care doesn’t make you weak, it makes you smart - so don’t be afraid to give yourself some maintenance. What’s one way you participate in self-care?
Shop the NO EXCUSES collection today !
https://secrets2success.net/collections/no-excuses
