Aloette Influencer’s love self-care so much, they turned it into their job! So we thought, “Who better to ask for self-care advice for those of us that struggle with it?” Take a few minutes to show yourself some love by catching up with Sawyer and her best advice on taking care of yourself.
What good is an empty lantern?
Think about it. No fuel, no light. No matter how beautiful it is or how bright it could shine its purpose remains unfulfilled collecting dust. Selfcare is the fuel lighting your lantern, allowing YOU to shine brightly for all to see.
So I say to you, as cliche as it might seem, Selfcare is not selfish and it’s gaining a lot of much needed attention. What is Selfcare really? According to the Oxford Languages via a quick google search, “seriously, what would we do without a search engine?” you will see Selfcare defined as:
- the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health.
- the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.
For years women have been ingrained to take care of everyone else first; kids, partners, friends, the house, her job, join the PTA, her parents, literally you NAME it and she probably had her hands in it. Women are creatures of caregiving, multitasking, and master jugglers literally trying to be and do everything for everyone. It’s exhausting, plus how can you be everything and do everything and still have time to just be? You can’t. Hence the wave of self-care, learning that taking time for YOU isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessary proponent of a healthy, happy, fulfilled life. And I am all in for that. Listen, men need self-care, too, just like they need skincare. Listen up, dudes.
I’m a visual person and while I don’t remember who said it or if I watched a Reel about it, probably the latter, this really stuck with me when trying to promote why self-care matters. Enter a line of cups and a pyramid of cups side by side, two pitchers of water, and watch as an experiment ensues. One water pitcher goes down the line filling up each cup until it runs out with cups still left empty. Now the second water pitcher first fills the top cup to the brim and keeps pouring until it runs empty. The difference is as water flows into all the cups underneath, it leaves not a single one empty while the first cup at the top remains full. She was making a point: fill up your cup first and you’ll have more than enough to share vs the traditional “me last” approach.
Now, where to start? Simple, start small, and stay consistent. The first step to self-care for me is my skincare routine, hence probably why I was asked to write this blog. Skincare is habit-forming, it’s not time-consuming, it’s easy, and it will make you feel better. When you feel better you start to show up as your best self. BOOM. Want another easy step??? Drink 8 glasses of water each day. It’s measurable, it’s doable and it’s good for your entire body, skin included. Lastly, get your heart rate up with some cardio and/or a good book. I’m a sucker for cheesy, sorry NOT sorry. Lastly, choose gratitude. It’s true, when you practice being thankful for your many blessings it changes you from thinking you’ll never be or have enough into knowing you are enough and getting better.
Pick a day, I’m not only cheesy but a sucker for alliteration, so I usually do Selfcare Sunday or Selfcare Saturday but just pick a day for you to really focus on recharging. Most of us charge our cell phones every single night. We need to recharge ourselves, too. Some of my favorite ways to show myself some love is to sleep in with the hubby and furbabies, read whatever book I have open, do a mask/facial treatment while I soak and sip some red wine. Oh and cardio, not necessarily in that order of course. Now, let me back up, I normally sleep in since I do Aloette full time and I have since about 19 but the difference is the hubby joins and since quality time is a love language of mine it’s nice to slowly wake and catch up with him. It’s the little things that add up to be the big deals in my book.
If you struggle with making time for self-care I’d recommend defining it again. Then I’d tell you that self-care doesn’t mean that you have to take a whole day, week, month to lounge about being lazy or slacking on responsibilities. It simply means taking some time for yourself in little bits, whether it’s a few moments or an hour. So figure out something you love and do it. Moms especially need to take a few moments each day to be thankful for the beautiful loud crazy mess they call kiddos, yeah I said it. When days are long and hard sometimes it’s an attitude of gratitude that will get you mamas through. Remember, small eyes are watching you so show them the best you that you can be and give yourself grace when you falter.
Surround yourself with powerful women who make self-care a priority. Being a part of Aloette means I’m in business for myself but I’m never by myself. I get to grow alongside like-minded self-care advocates and skincare junkies who give me community, shareable content when I’m feeling uninspired, and a sisterhood of women showing up even when we don’t feel like it. After reading this I hope you’re more inclined to take some time for yourself to be and become the very best version of yourself. But if not, that’s okay, just remember to wash your face and moisturize. I swear I’m happier when I’m moisturized. Tricked ya!
Xoxo,
Sawyer
