I have a confession to make. The past few days I’ve really found myself struggling with self-care as I’ve been dealing with some migraines.

I have a pretty good daily self-care routine overall.  But when I get wiped out with a migraine for a few hours or a day, my self-care routine tends to go by the wayside as I get focused on wanting to get caught up on the hours of productivity that I missed out on.

I didn’t use to have a self-care routine until I discovered the important of taking care of yourself while I was still in the corporate world.  It was about 3 or 4 years ago during a time when I was particularly stressed and burned out at my job. I realized I was continually giving, giving, giving of myself without refueling. My mind was also constantly on my work and I couldn’t turn it off, even at home. I started to have health issues and needed to figure out ways to take care of myself.

I tried different things like meditation, visualizations, affirmations, journaling, yoga, different types of exercise until I found what worked for me. I still try different things now as I discover new things and continue to expand my knowledge. But I definitely have learned that taking care of yourself, self-care is essential. It’s giving your best to others. Putting yourself first doesn’t make you self-fish, it makes you self-less. You cannot serve others on empty, I tried that for many years and failed miserably. I actually ended up in the ER a couple of times as a matter of fact.

Take a look at these quotes and see for yourself the importance of taking care of yourself:

Self-Care: Giving Your Best to Others

“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.” ~ Katie Reed

“Self-care means giving yourself permission to pause.” ~ Cecilia Tran

“An empty lantern provides no light. Self-care is the fuel that allows your light to shine brightly.” ~ Unknown

“Put yourself at the top of your to-do list every single day and the rest will fall into place.” ~ Unknown

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” ~ Anne Lamott

“I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.” ~ Andre Lorde

“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” ~ Eleanor Brownn

Do any of these resonate with you? Do you have a self-care routine? Start putting one together and start giving others the best of you everyday.