July 24th is International Self Care Day
Self love is a life long journey. I’m not going to sit here and front like i have it all figured out or that if you follow everything i say you’ll be alright, you’ll love yourself always, and that life will be all sunshine and rainbows. But what i can do for you is show you the bigger picture and encourage you through my truth and sincere words.
WHAT IS SELF CARE?
According to Oxford Dictionary self-care is ” The practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health “. In other words actively putting in the time and effort to take care of ones self.
Contrary to common belief self-care is not just bubble baths and face masks. It’s much more than just skin deep. Self care includes nurturing your health : mentally, spiritually,and physically. As in getting up and going to the gym or going for that run you’ve been avoiding. Eating food that’s good for your health or just cooking yourself a meal rather than going out to eat, surrounding yourself with positivity, moving forward rather than dwelling on the past, engaging in activities that make you happy, listing the things you like about yourself, etc. It could even be as simple as brushing your teeth in the morning, or staying extra long in the shower, hugging yourself, removing your makeup, putting on lip balm, washing your face, learning to use the block button, etc.
While doing what’s good for your health, self-care also includes spoiling yourself : buying those shoes that you’ve wanted, eating that donut, binge watching your favorite series, having a movie marathon. The general gist of what I’m getting at is that self care is not just limited to just outwardly care, it’s a set of habits and routines that are cultivated to preserve mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Like I said this is a life long journey. You won’t always be on top of the game and that’s okay. It’s okay to not be okay. But it’s not okay to completely give up on yourself. You deserve better than that. Because at the end of the day nobody will have your back like you will yourself. End of discussion.
SELF CARE & SELF LOVE GO HAND IN HAND
Self care is the direct result of self-love, regardless of how you express self-care whether it be physically, mentally, or spiritually. It’s honestly disgusting how society tries to teach us that loving ourselves is cocky, prideful, or means you’re full of ourselves, or that we think we’re ” better than everyone else “. Even in the dictionary definition of self love “conceit” is listed as a direct synonym. Excuse my language, but, fuck that shit! Yes i am full of myself, yes i love myself, yes i value myself enough to not feel the need to lower my own self-worth just to make you feel comfortable. We all should wear our invisible crowns with pride. And if that approach isn’t cutting it for you remember : 1. They’re not paying your bills. 2. Having haters means you’re popping. The real topic of discussion should never be: whether or not you think you’re better than everyone. Rather you should ask yourself : do THEY think you’re better than them.
To this day i don’t understand why
- people think bringing somebody down with degrading, spiteful words will EVER increase their own self worth.
- Society preaches self-love but when you actually start loving yourself, it suddenly turns to conceit. It’s like : we want them to be confident, but not too confident or we want them eat,just as long as it’s not more than mine.
That’s like having a crush on yourself but not being sure if you like yourself back. Love yourself Sis! Bro! Fam! whichever pronoun you accept. Because self-love was NEVER gender exclusive. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not just take it all in stride. You DO deserve love. You’re worth more than somebodies irrelevant opinion. And most importantly sharing your love with others WILL NOT EVER diminish your own worth. I don’t know where this came from but it needs to stop TODAY. Repeat after me : Appreciating other art does not make you any less of a masterpiece!
I don’t expect you to instantly start loving yourself more after reading this post but i do hope i did show you some light. Self love, self-care, they’re both very broad topics and i simply just brushed the surface. Just like you, i am simply just a scholar of life, on my never-ending road to success, whatever that maybe. I would love it if you would join me, at your own risk ;), as we all progress together in insight.
In the pursuit of peace, love, and fulfillment
Yours truly,
Olamide ♥
In my next post I’ll be discussing and reconstructing the most cliché and controversial self-love quote : ” You can’t love or expect someone else to you if you don’t love yourself first “.
Zam Zam With Zainab 