Self-Care: What is it, and Why is it Important for Every Leader?
Taking care of oneself seems…selfish. Right? We have all heard the airplane announcement: place your mask on before assisting others. That is, to always ensure that you can be useful to those around you. If you run out of oxygen, then you will not be able to help others who may need it. We are beginning to see and read more and more information about the importance of taking care of ourselves, first and foremost. In fact, in a recent article I read, trends indicate that search’s for ‘self-care’ have doubled since 2015. 1 Even the recent spotlight on Olympic gymnast Simone Biles for placing herself and her mental health above all else showcased the importance of this subject.
Most of us do not have to make self-care choices, including prioritizing our mental health, under the same intense pressure that Biles faced. I do not want to undermine the importance of and the bravery that she showed in making that decision, or imply that those of us making these choices out of the spotlight are not also being courageous. Investing time in our personal well-being is an important topic to discuss. Recent studies show that nearly one-third of Americans have visited a doctor about stress-related issues. Fifty-seven percent admit to sometimes being paralyzed by some form of stress.
That seems crazy when you begin to translate percentages into real numbers of people impacted by this. It can be too easy to brush that off as “people have become soft” or “they are just not used to working hard”. In our current environment, brushing it off as COVID-related can be even more damaging. Living through a global pandemic is a serious event, and I believe we are only scratching the surface on the lasting mental effects this disease will have on everyone, regardless of whether you personally contracted the illness.
Up front, let’s agree that self-care is not about indulging yourself or being selfish. It is also not primarily about your professional development. Self-care means taking care of yourself to allow you to be healthy, feel healthy, and work healthy. It is the basis for enabling you to do all the other things you choose to do in our personal and profession life.
The first question below may seem simple or even silly —
“Do you take care of yourself?” I would bet that most of us will instinctively answer, “Yes, of course I do.”
But, ask it a different way…
Now, if I ask you a more specific question, such as “How do you take care of yourself?” — well, the response may get a bit more complicated.
From “What Does Self-Care Actually Mean”
There are three key areas I believe are at the core of beginning a self-care process.
Physically Healthy
This is about how you take care of yourself from a physical standpoint. Getting enough exercise, remaining active, staying strong. None of these require gym memberships or a lot of time. They do require engagement, investment, and a choice to be healthy. Taking consistent walks for twenty or thirty minutes a day will make a huge difference in your physical being. Grab a light set of dumbbells and spend five minutes a day with some guided exercises. There are endless options on the internet. I have written about the benefits of using Apple Fitness to stay active and have some help leading through different type of exercises. I have found this extremely valuable in engaging me in a routine of workouts.
Mentally Well
Your mental well-being encompasses many different things. This can be about your current mindset. It can be about your emotional state. Or it can be about how you manage the processing of information. All are equally important, and each are only surface level within the mental health space. Taking an inventory of your current state of mind is likely a good place to start. Be honest with yourself. What is draining your energy? Think about elements that may seem outside your control. How you cope with those items will have an impact on your mental wellness. I cannot stress enough that if you are facing difficult emotional or mental stressors, seek the support and assistance you need.
Nutritionally Balanced
The final piece of the core three is staying nutritionally balanced. Diet makes up a big part of how we feel and the energy we have to give to every day. Unfortunately, diet gets confused with ‘dieting’ and not just managing what we eat. Almost anything, done in moderation, can be part of a healthy diet. And eating healthy doesn’t mean having a lot of restrictions on what you can eat. There are so many options on how to manage what you eat and when you eat that there should be a routine that works well for you and your specific needs.
I have found the key to eating healthy is to learn what options are available and then define what will work with your schedule and what you enjoy eating. That last part is really critical. If you do not enjoy what you eat, you are much less likely to continue a routine you start. If you end up with too many ‘rules’ for what you eat, you’ll always want to work around them. And you will need to be flexible in situations that dictate it. Traveling can be a big challenge for many of us in retail. Sticking to a very strict schedule or menu of food options can quickly become a significant challenge. You need to be open to different ideas that will allow you to stick to what is most important for you, yet work with the circumstances you find yourself in. In every role I have been in, I have always been able to adjust my eating habits to work with the role I was in. Whether it was long hours in a store, working through a large district, or spending a lot of time in airports for regional or corporate jobs, I could find a way to make it work with my eating needs.
Balancing your intake means both food and liquids. Drinking a lot of water is vitally important to managing your health. Having spent a lot of my life in the dry desert of Arizona, I learned to enjoy water at a young age. I still drink more water than any other beverage by far. I routinely drink more than one-hundred ounces of water every day. Furthermore, I believe this helps me stay not only hydrated, but helps my body stay healthy all around. I limit the amount of caffeine, sodas, and alcohol I drink. But I do drink all of those. It comes back to moderation and situational awareness.
In even simpler terms, these three areas mentioned above are about taking care of your mind, your body, and your belly. Remain active and take care of your body. Find activities to engage your mind and challenge your thinking or on the opposite end, make sure to allow your mind to wander and relax from time to time. And taking care of your belly is more than just what you eat — it is how you eat. This is about habits and managing your routines and cycles for good gut health, weight management, and nutrition. Mind. Body. Belly.
Importance on leadership
Our role as leaders is to develop other strong leaders. As part of that, it comes back to being in a position to support those that need our assistance. If we are not fit from a self-care standpoint, it reduces our ability to serve others.
We all want to feel healthy and as if we are in top shape for the things we want to do. That doesn’t mean we all need to be marathon ready, but having clarity of mind, and being able to physically meet the demands of coaching and learning from others each day takes stamina. Effective leadership requires ongoing self-care to provide your best to those you serve.
Key Take Aways
Self-care is not selfish
Self-care is not pampering or being overly indulgent. By the way, creating an event that may seem like pampering (i.e, a spa day) is not what I am referring to here.
Many people (and probably more than even the studies show) are struggling with some form of stress impact on their lives
I summarize three forms of self-care — Physically healthy, Mentally well, and Nutritionally balanced.
In simple terms — take care of your mind, body, and belly.
Self-care is a personal subject and one you should do a lot of research on and then speak to medical professionals about for any serious issues you may be experiencing. Taking better care of yourself doesn’t have to be a big ordeal or scary, or prevent you from doing other things you like. In fact, it should be an enabler for doing more of the things you want to do to enjoy your friends and family while still feeling successful in your professional life. Self-care is about doing what feels best for you and your specific needs.
How are you engaging in your self-care? What is your next step to taking care of you?
Extra Resource
Poster for self-care during COVID — Tip for Self-Care During Covid
Being a More Effective Leader — Activities for Your Mind, Body, and Doing
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