Reframing Self-Care: Filling Your “Emotional Well”
What do you think of when you hear the term “self-care?”
For me, “self-care” evokes images of bubble baths, spa days, pedicures, and candles. Self-care has become somewhat of a buzzword in recent years, encouraging people to relax and give time to themselves. While this is a helpful concept, I’d like to reframe the idea of self-care and offer an alternative perspective called filling your “emotional well.”
I frequently work with my coaching clients on keeping their “emotional wells” full, which is a different way of framing self-care. I ask the women who I work with, “What did you do this week that has filled your emotional well?” And what are the answers I get?
Rest
Time with friends/family
Exercise
Get a massage
Tme outside
Meditation
A delicious home-cooked meal
Thinking about these items, they aren’t typical “self-care” activities, but really things that keep them balanced and joyful in their daily lives.
The corporate culture in the U.S. leads many professional women to believe that the busier and more driven we are, the more accomplished we are/appear. It’s crucial to your joy and mental health to find ways to unwind, slow down your mind, and fill your emotional well. This can be as simple as resting, taking time to read a fiction novel, or putting your phone away for 20 minutes to be fully present with your children.
Instead of viewing self-care as “treating yourself,” I encourage you to intentionally take daily actions that you know will bring your emotions to a more positive space. When you begin to purposefully incorporate these actions into your day-to-day life, your emotional well will fill, bringing you overall higher levels of joy, lower levels of stress, and greater fulfillment in your day-to-day life.
Go after your biggest dreams and passions, but don’t neglect the things that will fill your emotional well.
“Self-care” isn’t just sporadically treating yourself, it’s creating a daily routine that is sustainable and emotionally fulfilling. A life you are excited to live.
What specific actions can you incorporate into your daily life that will fill your emotional well?
