Self-Improvement and Self-Care

by Dana McGee, CIT

While scrolling through social media mindlessly in a rabbit hole of memes, videos, and inspirational quotes, a post jumped out and pulled at my heart. The quote read “If you spend your time chasing butterflies, they’ll fly away. But if you spend your time making a beautiful garden, the butterflies will come to you. When you focus on improving yourself, everything you want will come to you. We attract based on who we are, not what we want. Don’t chase, attract.” -Mario Quintana. Beautiful words, but what does that mean? 

It is not uncommon to find ourselves in an auto-pilot trap of doing the bare minimum to keep afloat. While taking care of and serving others is of high priority, we need to take the time to fill our own cups in order to effectively serve others. 1 Corinthians 3:17 says “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” God wants us to practice self care because He loves us and wants us to be in the right frame of mind to take care of others and spread His word.

Admittedly, when thinking of what self-care looks like, flashes of day spas, manicures, and pampering come to mind. While these are all great ways to take care of yourself, sometimes it is not feasible. There are not always enough hours in the day or money in the bank. So what does self-care look like? Here are a few ways to practice taking care of yourself without breaking the bank or feeling like you are taking away from your everyday duties. 

Take a breather. Just taking five minutes out of your day to take a few deep breaths without a particular thought in your mind can go a long way to help regroup and refocus. The beautiful thing about taking a breather is it can be done anywhere. That time you have in your car before you get out to go inside the house after work for instance. 

Eating healthy. Being mindful of what we put in our bodies not only benefits our physical health but our mental health as well. Even the small changes can impact how we feel in big ways. When we feel better we serve better!

Connecting with God. This is a big one, taking a moment out to pray, read scripture, or just have a conversation with God about what is on our hearts is one of the most important forms of self-care. Having a mindful conversation is a fantastic way to unburden our worries and express gratitude for our blessings.

Taking some time for you. While it may not be an option daily it is still important to make time to take care of ourselves. This could be investing in physical and mental health, a haircut, walking, counseling, time with friends, journaling, or any other activity that is enjoyable. Use this time to build your garden and attract those butterflies!