If we don't care for ourselves, we will not have the energy to care for those we love. If we don't care for those we love, we will tear apart the loving, supportive structures that make life meaningful and provide the sustenance each of us needs to live well. There's a fine balance to be had when it comes to caring for self and caring for others.
Self Care
Some are well schooled in self care from an early age and others are not. Those well-schooled probably grew up in homes where they learned how to take care of themselves well. They learned about nutritious food, adequate rest, healthy recreation, good relationships, and the need to develop one's passions and interests while also mitigating and/or strengthening one's shortcomings and challenges. Those who were well-schooled had parents and other caretakers who exemplified positive, healthy self care and took the time to to teach that self-care too.
Others did not receive that tutelage--those people may have not received the lessons of positive self care. Perhaps they lived in homes where nutritious food was uncommon and healthy recreation missing. They may not have received attention to other aspects of self care such as adequate rest, safe homes, good relationships, or self respect in terms of one's interests, passions, and challenges too. For people like this, self care takes more attention as they have to learn and establish the needed positive routines.
In all, however, there's no doubt that self care is critical when it comes to living a good life and caring for others.
Caring for Others
Caring for others is essential with regard to establishing, building, and maintaining a strong social culture. You can't simply serve self and not think about or care for others in order to live well. You need to identify those who you want to care for, and then figure out how you are going to care for those people in positive and healthy ways.
To care well for others may mean that you support their self care in a number of ways daily, weekly, monthly or periodically during the year. Perhaps you care for good friends by having them over for dinner or celebrating their special events. You likely care for your children and close family members by making meals, providing a welcoming home, and fostering healthy activities and pursuits. And you may care for colleagues by sharing your strengths, collaborating, and helping out when help is needed.
The challenge in caring for self and for others is finding that right balance. Those that give too much to others often find that they don't have enough to give because they have not cared for self, and those that care too much for self, may find themselves lonely and isolated since they don't contribute to the greater social circles that surround and intersect with them.
There's a good balance to be had here--a balance worth thinking about, establishing, and recalibrating regularly to maintain good living.
Self Care
Some are well schooled in self care from an early age and others are not. Those well-schooled probably grew up in homes where they learned how to take care of themselves well. They learned about nutritious food, adequate rest, healthy recreation, good relationships, and the need to develop one's passions and interests while also mitigating and/or strengthening one's shortcomings and challenges. Those who were well-schooled had parents and other caretakers who exemplified positive, healthy self care and took the time to to teach that self-care too.
Others did not receive that tutelage--those people may have not received the lessons of positive self care. Perhaps they lived in homes where nutritious food was uncommon and healthy recreation missing. They may not have received attention to other aspects of self care such as adequate rest, safe homes, good relationships, or self respect in terms of one's interests, passions, and challenges too. For people like this, self care takes more attention as they have to learn and establish the needed positive routines.
In all, however, there's no doubt that self care is critical when it comes to living a good life and caring for others.
Caring for Others
Caring for others is essential with regard to establishing, building, and maintaining a strong social culture. You can't simply serve self and not think about or care for others in order to live well. You need to identify those who you want to care for, and then figure out how you are going to care for those people in positive and healthy ways.
To care well for others may mean that you support their self care in a number of ways daily, weekly, monthly or periodically during the year. Perhaps you care for good friends by having them over for dinner or celebrating their special events. You likely care for your children and close family members by making meals, providing a welcoming home, and fostering healthy activities and pursuits. And you may care for colleagues by sharing your strengths, collaborating, and helping out when help is needed.
The challenge in caring for self and for others is finding that right balance. Those that give too much to others often find that they don't have enough to give because they have not cared for self, and those that care too much for self, may find themselves lonely and isolated since they don't contribute to the greater social circles that surround and intersect with them.
There's a good balance to be had here--a balance worth thinking about, establishing, and recalibrating regularly to maintain good living.