Self-care is not always about meditation, long bubble baths, and journaling.
Sometimes it’s about who you choose to surround yourself with.
Believe it or not, the people we spend our precious time with have the greatest impact on our lives. They have the power to contribute to your happiness or to break your heart, as long as you let them. Moreover, they can lift you up or put you down within seconds if you allow it.
Besides, they can encourage you to pursue your dreams and become the greatest version of yourself. But they can also hold you back and stop you from chasing your goals. That is exactly why you need to be careful who you let into your life.
Sometimes, to save yourself from toxicity, you may have to cut people off. And often, they might be family members or people you thought were your dear friends. But you need to understand that no one is worth more than your mental and physical wellbeing. The truth is, life is too darn short to spend it with the wrong people.
You may not be able to choose your family, but you can choose your friends.
And if you choose them wisely, your life will be filled with happiness, joy, and unforgettable hartening moments. Moreover, you have the power to decide who is good for you, and whose impact brings nothing to your life but pain and toxicity. And even if you can’t see it now, cutting the wrong people off will be one of the best things you could ever do for yourself. Having a small but trustworthy circle is way more valuable than having many fake ‘friends’ that only reach out for you whenever they need a favor.
Many self-care tips say things like, “Spend quality time with your friends”, but not as many of them tell you to spend time with quality friends. Unfortunately, not every person you call a friend adds value to your life and wasting your time on people like that is just meaningless.
True self-care is about making the choice to surround yourself with positive, wholesome energy.
Therefore, the people around you should be caring, loving, and motivating. These people should be there for you and lift your spirits up when you’re not feeling good in your own skin. They should be giving you hope, courage, confidence, respect. Anyone who is only being your friend whenever they need something from you doesn’t deserve your precious time.
To make the first steps for your self-care journey, you need to reevaluate your friendships and your relationships. Furthermore, you need to find the strength to distance yourself from the people who make you feel worthless and don’t appreciate you, even if that means cutting family members off. It’s okay to say no to negativity and take a break from people that overwhelm you and mess up with your mind.
Most importantly, self-care is about realizing that you deserve to be loved, respected, and cherished.
And you definitely don’t deserve to be treated as if you didn’t matter by anyone, especially by a relative. Self-care is about surrounding yourself with people who accept you with all of your flaws and imperfections. People who believe in your potential and encourage you to become the best version of yourself. People who contribute to your happiness instead of taking it away.
You are worthy of love. Don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise. And when you start taking care of yourself, you will notice how you will start feeling better, looking better, and attracting better energy around you. It all starts within you.
