The Most Neglected & Powerful Act of Self-Care

The Most Neglected(nəˈɡlektəd) & Powerful Act of Self-Care

By Leo Babauta

Many of us are (rightfully(ˈrītfəlē)) focused on taking care of our health, eating nourishing(ˈnəriSHiNG) whole foods and trying to be active … while meditating(ˈmedəˌtāt) and flossing(fläs,flôs) and taking some time of disconnection, away from devices(dəˈvīs).

These are wonderful acts of self-care, and they are necessary(ˈnesəˌserē) and important.

But there’s one act of self-care that is very often neglected, and it might be even more important than all the others: the practice(ˈpraktəs) of loving yourself.

In fact, this is so often neglected that when I mention(ˈmen(t)SH(ə)n) “loving yourself,” many people don’t know what that means. Many of us have never consciously(ˈkänSHəslē) done it. If we have, it’s so rare(re(ə)r) as to be a forgotten memory.

But it’s my belief that we should do it throughout the day, like trying to drink 8 glasses of water. We should give ourselves at least 8 doses(dōs) of loving ourselves every day.

What is this “self-love” (not in the sexual(ˈsekSHo͞oəl) sense(sens))? Imagine pouring(pôr) out love in your heart to someone you love dearly — what would that feel like? Now try doing the same thing for yourself. That’s self-love, and it’s a completely foreign(ˈfär-,ˈfôrən) concept(ˈkänˌsept) for the vast majority(məˈjôrədē, məˈjärədē) of people.

…

I coach(kōCH) a number of people, 1-on-1 and in small and large groups — and pretty much everyone I meet is hard on themselves in some way. In some kind of stress(stres) and pain(pān). Disappointed(ˌdisəˈpoin(t)əd) in themselves, angry(ˈaNGgrē) at themselves, constantly(ˈkänst(ə)ntlē) feeling inadequate(inˈadikwət).

Do you relate(rəˈlāt) to this? I think most of us can find a good chunk(CHəNGk) of this in ourselves.

This is the basic problem that most of us face, every single day. We don’t love big portions(ˈpôrSHən) of ourselves. We beat(bēt) ourselves up, all day long. We stress out about uncertainty(ˌənˈsərtntē) because we don’t think we’re good enough to deal with it.

…
https://zenhabits.net/self-love/