Practicing self-care is like putting gas in your car’s tank. Without gas, your car is running on empty—and without self-care, so are you. In essence, self-care is about filling yourself up so you can be the best spouse, parent, friend, employee, boss and person that you can be.
Selfishness, on the other hand, reflects the “me-first” attitude—determining just how much you can get for yourself (often, at the expense of others).
Here are some examples of selfishness vs. self-care:
- Self-Care: Getting adequate nightly rest
- Selfish: Sleeping excessively to avoid responsibilities
- Self-Care: Enjoying a break from work to fuel up with healthy foods
- Selfish: Taking an unauthorized extended lunch on company time
- Self-Care: Creating and enforcing healthy boundaries
- Selfish: Saying “no” to every request for help (without a reason)
- Self-Care: Making time for relaxation and meditation
- Selfish: Isolating and ignoring loved ones
- Self-Care: Buying ingredients to cook your favorite recipe
- Selfish: Spending your family’s savings on unnecessary luxury items
Now that you have a better understanding of the difference between selfishness and self-care, here’s a great resource to help you develop your own self-care plan.
You might also find it useful to think of self-care as being organized into the following domains:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Psychological
- Spiritual
- Professional
Remember that maintaining your physical, mental and spiritual health is an investment in yourself. And, this investment enables you to better support and care for others.
If you’re feeling depleted, having trouble with creating boundaries or needing help with improving your mental well-being, Travco Behavioral Health can help. Contact us today!
