If you read my post about What Is Self Care then you know I have a less, let’s say, mystical idea of what Self Care should be. I’m working my way into a good Self Care routine, but I definitely need reminders about why it’s important. Words work best, little mini mantras, I guess, at reminding me. So,I’ve scoured Pinterest and found some Self Care Quotes that remind me why I’m into this.
Now, I didn’t put EVERY self care quote I found on Pinterest. Most of them, I’m not into. The one’s that say “You can’t pour from an empty cup”? That doesn’t work for me. I’m not into Self Care so that I can pour out what I’ve put in. In my humble opinion (I’m not humble, that’s a lie right there), self care should just be for you. Maybe in general I’m wrong about that. But I don’t think so.
I think that making self care a thing you do SO THAT you can do more for others is wrong. I think it’s FANTASTIC that after you’ve taken care of yourself you are better equipped for taking care of someone else. But I think that should be a side effect of self care, not the reason for doing it.
So, with that in mind, here are some of my favorite Self Care Quotes and why I love them.
12 Self Care Quotes and Why I Love Them
Ok. You should know this about me. I am kind of obsessed with the things I love about myself. I’ve always had strong self esteem. I don’t know who to thank for that, but I’m pretty sure it’s me. I know what I can do well. I know what I can’t do well (dance and math, to name a couple) and I’m fine with the fact that there are things I can’t do well.
I do believe some people find it annoying that I’m so pleased with myself. I don’t care. No, I do care. I care in that I feel sorry for someone who can’t say, “She thinks she’s awesome. Good for her.” There’s plenty of awesome to go around, people. We can all be awesome at some things.
To be clear, I don’t think I’m better than anyone. I think there’s something awesome in everyone. And I think it’s ok to know that you’re kind of awesome.
This self care quote, to me, relates to the previous. I think my self esteem comes from having done hard things. Or, well, I’ve done things that were hard at first, but I didn’t give up and eventually they became easy.
I was a gymnast as a kid. Every kid starts gymnastics not knowing how to do anything. But you learn one thing and then you build on that skill. Eventually, you’ve learned a bunch of skills and now you can practically fly!
Gymnastics gave me that, but for someone else, maybe school gives them that, or violin or karate. I’m a firm believer in find something you like and keep doing it until you’re great at it.
I don’t like making mistakes. I can be very hard on myself when I make a mistake. When someone else makes a mistake, I am much more understanding. But, for myself, I feel a heavy burden when I make a mistake.
Instead of obsessing over a mistake, I do my absolute best to fix it and then I say “It’s ok. I’ll live”.
I still don’t like making mistakes, though.
Ok, this is a big one. This one has taken me most of my 43 years to get. It’s ok to not like what everyone else likes. It’s totally fine to be like, “That’s great that you like that, not really my cup of tea, but, I can see your point”. No one is offended by that. I mean, no sane person.
Trying to like the things everyone else likes is EXHAUSTING. I’m going to do the things I like, say the things I feel. It’s so much easier.
Self Care is about doing things intentionally to care for yourself. It’s important to pick things that you are actually in to. Things that you’ll look forward to. Or at least things that have a result that you look forward to.
This is great imagery for meditation or mindfulness. I imagine clearing out cobwebs, polishing floors, disinfecting dirt.
Our minds can be dirty. Not like that. I mean, like messy.
This self care quote can apply to material things. But it’s more about this. If I got to the crazy mall on Friday night when approximately one million people are there, I’m not going to feel peaceful about that.
Therefore I don’t go to the mall on Friday night. I don’t care who needs what. Not happening.
I’m a strong, firm believer in saying no when you need to. I wrote about saying no and boundaries and why I think it’s important. You should read it. It’s important.
Say no to the PTA once in your life. It will feel awesome.
I have a terrible story for you. When my daughter was little her goldfish died. She asked about it and we told her it was on vacation with Papa. The lie just came spilling out. It wasn’t even a conscious decision.
It was so very wrong. We wanted to spare her the tears and sadness. And in our defense, she was about 5 at the time and who wants to see an adorable 5 year old cry? No one.
The same idea holds true when you’re not 5 anymore though. You can’t hide from suffering. We all feel it eventually in some way and that’s the only thing you can do. Feel it. Keep someone around to make you tea or hold your hand if you can.
This is really a mini list of self care activities. I love it because they are unconventional. Like “avoid small talk” and “have a smart mouth”. Ask questions is one of my personal favorites. I’ve never made it beyond the “Why?” stage.
And, yes, my 13 year old boy brain is snickering at “make love” but it’s definitely self care. So you can put that in your routine.
I thought about doing a list of Self Care Quotes that were TOTALLY lame. There are plenty of those out there, but I’m going to do some brain hygiene and not dwell on those negative thoughts.
I want to know. What’s your self care mantra? What reminds you why you should take care of yourself?
If You Liked It Then You Shoulda Put a Pin In It!
