Here is a short talk about self-care, something that seems easy, but sometimes it’s actually kind of difficult to do.
Here’s what I mean…
We sometimes put our self-care last on our to-do list because we are busy or feel like we need to accomplish [blank] amount of stuff before we can take care of ourselves.
Parents are a good example of this, especially moms, like myself. I put everything before myself. My to-dos, short-term goals, and taking care of my daughter. Taking care of myself tends to come last.
For example, about three days a week, after I wake up, I make sure that my daughter has breakfast and is all set for her day. Then, I grab my coffee and begin working on my businesses and cleaning the house.
Once I complete a certain amount of work, my brain tells me that it’s okay to get out of my PJs and that I’ve earned a break.
It’s like I have to get a good start to my day, but some times it accidentally becomes several hours of my day. Which for me, feels like a bad habit.
I think that my mental health would be slightly improved while I take care of my kid and the one million other things on my to-do list if I were at least wearing my running clothes, rather than PJs.
I bet you might do something like this, as well. Do you feel like you have to earn your self-care sometimes?
Now, some of this self-care procrastination might come from anxiety or feeling overwhelmed. Make sure you are managing your anxiety.
Another place that this self-care procrastination might stem from is your beliefs.
Do you believe that you deserve to take better care of yourself?
What do you believe about yourself?
What do your thoughts say about you?
Increase your self-awareness and work on improving areas like self-compassion, self-esteem, body image, and positive self-talk.
Lack of self-care can also be a learned behavior. If you had a parent who didn’t prioritize self-care, then you might have learned not to, as well.
– Returning to the parenting example, when we prioritize self-care, our children see that and it teaches them how to take care of themselves.
This topic is covered so much, but yet, we all still struggle with it. I can’t think of a single person, myself included, who could be practicing self-care more frequently or in a way that’s more beneficial.
May is Mental Health Awareness month.
What are you doing this month (and everyday because we have mental health everyday) to make sure that we are growing our knowledge and awareness of mental health?
How are you supporting yourself?
Please, share with me down in the comments what you’re doing for mental wellness. [I could use some fresh ideas.]
Mental health professionals cannot end the stigma alone and get everyone the help that they need, we need you to be a part of this mission.
Happy running!
Ultrarunner, are you ready to level up your mindset and mental wellness?
If you are interested in working together on stepping up your mindset and mental wellness around racing and life, reach out to me.
I’d love to hear about your goals.
We will look at problem areas or where you’d like to see improvement, set a realistic goal, and then put those steps in place.
– I work with endurance runners and athletes all over the United States who want to dial in their race mentality, mental strategies, and overall improve their mental wellness.
— My coaching services are fully on the mental side (I am a National Certified Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor in PA, coaching is a non-clinical service).
Here’s what we can work on:
- Improve day-to-day mental wellbeing.
- Build better habits.
- Incorporate mindfulness
- Learn emotion regulation skills.
- Set challenging, yet attainable goals.
- Discuss motivation
- Address body image thoughts or concerns.
- Talk about you! Who are you, besides a runner or athlete? – parent, sibling,
- entrepreneur, community member… What else do you do, and how does it impact training for races or vice versa?
- Coping with injury and setbacks.
- Juggling priorities and time management.
- Are you actively trying to find a mental health professional? I can assist!
- Are you searching for a running coach? I can provide pointers on how to go about finding someone who’s a good fit and what questions to ask the coach when interviewing them for fit.
- Mental strategies and mindset for racing.
- Training and race day visualization.
- Generalized anxiety and race day anxiety.
- What might you do if you encounter a problem during a race.
- Building trust with yourself.
- Improving self-care, self-esteem, and self-compassion.
- Knowing when to push yourself and when to be kinder to yourself.
- Why’s and meaning behind what you do. Passion. Using that as support and drive.
- On top of talking, I do provide resources and homework.
I hope that this paints a picture of the good stuff that we can work on together.
Contact me if you have questions or want to schedule.
Related reads
Chat about Runner’s Body Image and Positivity
Ultrarunner Talks Body Image – Player Development
Mood Boosting Self-Care and Healthy Habits
Self-Care Assessment For Athletes
Follow for more running and mental wellness content
Mental health content over at Finish Stronger Counseling
Will you support me in my mission to help others?
One of my many goals is to increase mental health awareness, the availability of free resources, and the access to services.
If you value my free mental health content it would mean a lot to me if you would like, share, or Buy Me a Coffee.
This helps people find my free content and allows me to continue providing free content.
I’m aiming high, thank you for your support.
Shannon
I’m making sure to take extra care of my heart health by choosing healthier foods.
💯🙌🏻 Fantastic, Shawn.