Self-care or Self-Sabotage??
I thought I’d share an observation with you this week. I was having one of those internal conversations with myself - you know the ones where there is the ‘you’ who knows what's good for you and then there's the ‘you’ who likes to spoil stuff for the fun of it! (self-sabotage anyone?) I noticed how incredibly crafty that 'self-sabotaging' part of me is. I was weighing up whether to go for a run - not an hour long trek, just a modest 3.5km plod. I hadn't run for a few days and I knew it was what I needed. But Mrs. Self-Sabotage started to argue that I needed some 'self-care' in the form of sitting around on the sofa instead......hmmm very crafty, because I know the importance of self-care and taking a rest...BUT very often, my self-care IS to actually get out and go for a run. It improves my mood, it helps me to focus and become more creative and pro-active in my work, amongst a ton of other physical and mental health benefits I get from it.
I know I've done
this before, used the 'self-care' approach to be a bit
lazy. Of course it is so important to rest and take time out to be still
and conserve energy sometimes, but I have to be careful not to use it as
an excuse. I do find that excuses are really, really easy for me to find!
Anyway, I
reflected on all this – and it is only through my yoga and
self-awareness work I have done, that I was in a position to do
this. So I went for my run - it took less than half an hour and I
didn’t beat myself up about nearly chickening out of it. I then cracked
on and recorded a new relaxation for subscribers, got on top of my admin and
did a 15 minute meditation - which was also self-care. Needless to say I
felt really good and rather smug that I had got one over on Mrs.
Self-Sabotage. It can be a challenge to balance our lives out
in the ways we really need.
Have a think about how sometimes you end up not doing the things you know are
good for you, you might find it a little challenging to think about this. Humans are so very complex and often contrary, I certainly am. I'm frequently amazed at how illogical I can be sometimes!
😊
Below is the link
to the free relaxation – I hope it brings you peace.
For details of my classes and online work, see www.yogiclaire.com
