Start Thinking of Self Care as Protective Care

I recently heard this on a webinar and it really struck me to the core. Us as moms can come up with any excuse to not prioritize self-care.

“I don’t have the money. I could spend it on my kids.”

“I don’t have the time.”

“Who would watch my kids? That’s too much work to find a sitter.”

“The farm needs my attention. The house needs my attention.”

The list could seriously go on and on, but after I heard “start thinking about self-care as protective care” it gave me a different perspective where these excuses didn’t quite fit. Self-care is something that’s optional, easy, not necessary. Protective care is when you are protecting yourself from getting sick, losing all patience with those around you, and keeping your stress level down. It’s the time taken to be the best version of yourself so that you can spend the time you need to grocery shop, take care of your kids, make supper, work at your job and whatever else you need to do to prioritize your family.

Just try out the excuses now:

“I don’t have the money. I could spend it on my kids.”	“I need to spend this money to keep myself healthy.”
“I don’t have time.”	“If I take this time for myself now, I will be less stressed to take on my kids’ activities tonight.”
“Who would watch my kids? That’s too much work to find a sitter.”	“I have a lot of people who understand and would be happy to help me out.”
“The farm needs my attention. The house needs my attention.”	“If I do this now I’ll be more productive with the house chores later.”

Funny how just repositioning it to protective care can change your outlook and make it easier to prioritize your needs and to stop putting yourself last. So I challenge you to do the same. How do you see your life shifting with this change in perspective? Happier you? Healthier you? The list can be endless!