Can you do Self-Care Wrong? The fine-line between Self-Love and Self-Indulgence.

As parents raising daughters, one of our primary goals is to nurture their self-worth and self-care. We want our daughters to appreciate themselves, recognize their strengths, and cultivate healthy self-esteem. Self-care and self-love are often portrayed as long evenings in the bath with a glass of wine, but it's important for us to understand the nuanced difference between genuine self-love and potential self-indulgence.

Understanding the Essence of Self-Love

Self-love goes beyond mere pampering; it's about nurturing a positive relationship with who we are. It involves accepting our imperfections, setting healthy boundaries, and prioritizing activities that bring genuine joy and fulfillment. When we model this for our daughters, we show them that self-love is about inner strength and resilience.

Balancing Self-Love and Responsibility

Encouraging self-love means embracing challenges and responsibilities with grace. It involves teaching our daughters the importance of perseverance, resilience, and delayed gratification. By balancing self-care practices with our daily responsibilities, we demonstrate that self-love is a continuous journey of personal growth.

Evaluating Self-Care

In the media, self-care is often depicted through indulgent activities like spa days or extravagant treats. While these experiences can be enjoyable, it's essential to evaluate whether they contribute to genuine self-care or serve as temporary distractions.

Three Questions to Evaluate your Self-Care practice:

1. Does this activity align with my long-term well-being and happiness? Consider whether the self-care activity contributes positively to your overall health and happiness, or if it provides only temporary relief.

2. Am I engaging in this activity as a form of genuine self-nurturing or as a distraction? Reflect on whether the activity serves as a meaningful way to care for yourself or if it's merely a momentary escape from stress.

3. Will this self-care practice support my personal growth and inner strength? Evaluate whether the self-care practice encourages personal development and resilience, or if it reinforces dependency on external sources of comfort.

Many sources will say there is no such thing as too much self care-or there is no such thing as doing self-care wrong. And while we wanted so badly to be able to agree wholeheartedly with that statement, we feel there needs to be an added clarifying word. We agree that there is no such thing as too much HEALTHY self-care, but when the practices are based in overindulgence, or the behaviors themselves harm your body or mind-it most definitely can be done "wrong".

So, while this blog is not written to discount anyone's practices we write just to urge you to be mindful in ALL the practices you choose-even self care. Carefully evaluate your choices-use your critical thinking skills-they will always help guide you to the right decisions.