What About Me? What Am I Doing for Myself and My Career?
Self-care, self-nurturing, me time…Who has time?
When was the last time you did something that was just for you? Not your kids, not your spouse/partner, or parents, or friends, or boss, just you?
When I was married the first time and my kids were little, my “me time” was around midnight when all the chores were done, and everyone was in bed. The house was quiet, and I could sit undisturbed and just think or not think. That was a luxury and that was a long time ago.
Today I don’t have to wait until the dead of night to have time for myself, but I have had to make a conscious decision to pay attention to me.
As I prepared to write on this subject of self-care, I did some research and found there are five domains of self-care: physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. This is interesting to me because I’ve been doing my self-work for a while now but didn’t intentionally put my actions into categories.
Here’s what I’ve done:
- Physical: about two years ago I started working with a trainer. We meet once a week, on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. I like his workouts because he’s a physical therapist and a sports trainer. I know I’m stronger now than I was two years ago.
- Intellectual: I am a curious person. I take various workshops, attend conferences, and sign up for webinars, mostly about fundraising and consulting. I also love literature, theater, and other art forms and attend many arts events.
- Emotional: I stopped seeing my psychologist about two years ago. We decided to take a break. Most likely I’ll start seeing them again, but for now, I’m feeling pretty balanced.
- Social: I am making new friends. I met a fellow artist last winter and we meet periodically for lunch or art dates. It’s fun to spend time with someone who has a different profession and who shares my love of the arts.
- Spiritual: I believe we need beauty and kindness in our world. I work at letting go of “should” for myself and others. I help people when I can and try not to impose myself with all the answers to their challenges.
Self-care does relate to your career. If you are stronger, smarter, and kinder to those around you, you have created space to grow your career, develop new contacts, and go in the direction of your own choosing.
How are you today? Take care.
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