• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Being Tazim

Vancouver Food, Lifestyle, & Travel Blog

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Interior Design
  • Travel
  • Organization
You are here: Home / Lifestyle / 5 Reasons why Your Self-Care isn’t Working for you

5 Reasons why Your Self-Care isn’t Working for you

by Tazim Damji

Sharing is caring!

  • Share
  • Tweet

Take a bath. Light some candles. Get a pedicure. These are just some of the ideas I’ve often seen touted in articles promoting self-care.

Here are 5 reasons why your self-care isn’t working for you:

5 Reasons why Your Self-Care isn't Working for you

It’s not Right for you

When I was younger I used to feel sorry for myself because I didn’t enjoy going to parties or drinking. I assumed everyone else liked those things and that they were always having a much better time (and life) than I was. Over the years I came to realize that we all have different interests and ideas of what is fun or relaxing. When it comes to self-care, what works for someone else may not work for you.

It Feels Like Another to-do List Item

Does seeing all the #SelfCareSaturday posts on social media make you feel less-than, forcing you to add Instagram-worthy self-care to your to-do list each week? Honestly, one of my favourite things to do is go outside and explore nature or my little neighbourhood without documenting a single thing. It feels sneaky, selfish, and totally self-care worthy. Don’t make self-care feel like a chore. Not feeling your weekly scheduled solo coffee time? Skip it or pick something else.

5 Reasons why Your Self-Care isn't Working for you

It Doesn’t Feel Like a Treat

Do you actually enjoy doing the thing that you’ve decided was your idea of self-care? I wrote a post all about how to treat yourself to things that add value to your life. One piece of adulting that took me some time to figure out is what things I truly enjoyed and what other things were kind of meh. Knowing what feels like a treat to you is a good place to start when it comes to self-care. And yes, treats totally count!

It’s Comfort not Care

In this Strategy for Joy video, Molly Mahar of Stratejoy helps you to distinguish what you’re really craving and provides steps to take conscious action in that direction.

“If you’ve been sliding into the land of distraction, numbness, excessive soothing at the expense of your values, there’s no point in beating yourself up. Practice some self-compassion and let today be the “reset” button. If the comfort has been gaining crazy momentum, make a different choice now. Today. Tonight.”

Sign up for access to the handy worksheets: stratejoy.com.respond.ontraport.net/self-care-self-comfort-worksheets

and read Molly Mahar’s full post on Self-Care versus Self-Comfort

You’re Being too “Precious” with your Self-Care

Do you really need to have 2 hours to yourself, a candlelit bathroom, something yummy to drink, and rose petals to sprinkle in the bathtub for it to count as self-care? Or, will you allow yourself to have a less-than-perfect bath for however long you’re able or want to? If you’re only going to allow yourself to enjoy self-care when the stars align and everything is ideal, you could be waiting for a very long time.

5 Reasons why Your Self-Care isn't Working for you

Ideas to try out

Here are 15 ideas to try out. If these don’t do anything for you, no worries! Just because something is enjoyable for someone else doesn’t mean that it will be for you.

  1. buy or pick fresh flowers
  2. put together a “dancing on my own” playlist
  3. set the intention to create your favourite meals monthly
  4. enjoy dessert guilt-free
  5. Have a 30-second dance party (a la Grey’s Anatomy)
  6. dress up in an outfit that makes you feel beautiful (and take yourself out)
  7. read your favourite passages in a cherished book
  8. schedule a day to yourself with no set plans. See where the day takes you
  9. pick a new recipe to try from a favourite cookbook or online source
  10. make homemade ice cream in your favourite flavour
  11. go through your underwear drawer and throw out anything worn out or “frumpy”
  12. after dinner, instead of watching TV go out for a walk
  13. start your day with meditation or quiet time
  14. take a stack of post-it notes and write yourself positive messages to post in your home
  15. stare out a window at the moving clouds or leaves moving in the wind

As a child, I used to sit on the floor and colour in my colouring books on the coffee table most weekend mornings, if not throughout the day. I loved being able to make things whatever colours I wanted to, and the way I could so easily take something as boring as a blank page with a few outlines on it to a colourful one.

Now, I still love colouring, but I use the practice in a slightly different way. Check out the list of 5 Reasons to Add Colouring Books to your Self-Care Toolkit, below:

  1. There’s no multi-tasking
    Unless you’re listening to music, it’s difficult to do anything at the same time as you’re colouring. This is a good thing! Colouring can exercise your “focus muscle”
  2. It’s just for you
    You don’t need to share your colouring pages with anyone else. 
  3. You can colour your own world
    Make things whatever colour you want to.
  4. You get thinking time
    Because it’s hard to multitask when you’re colouring, you get plenty of time to think through things.
  5. There’s active participation
    Rather than watching TV, which is a pretty passive activity, colouring in a colouring book is much more active.

Trying out the self-care ideas above will allow you to know which ones you enjoy and which ones you don’t. Don’t be too “precious” with your self-care. Giving yourself the care or comfort you really need and are craving is the most important thing about self-care. After all, what’s the point of checking off things from someone else’s list? Make your own list of self-care that you enjoy!

I would LOVE to know what your favourite forms of self-care are! Leave me a comment below. 

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

Related Posts

  • Invest in Yourself – How to Become the Best Version of YouInvest in Yourself – How to Become the Best Version of You
  • Being Single in VancouverBeing Single in Vancouver
  • Three Things I’m Letting go of in the New YearThree Things I’m Letting go of in the New Year
  • A Different Kind of Budget Travel – Thrifty TravelA Different Kind of Budget Travel – Thrifty Travel
  • Caregiving Services – Support for you, care for those who depend on youCaregiving Services – Support for you, care for those who depend on you

Filed Under: Less but Better, Lifestyle Tagged With: best, self-care

About Tazim Damji

Tazim Damji is a permaculture gardener and certified holistic nutritionist from Vancouver, Canada. She is passionate about photography, vegan food, and gardening. Read more posts by Tazim. Visit her food and adventure blog Celebrate Life's Adventures Connect with Tazim via Twitter or on Facebook .

Previous Post: « 8 Steps To Organize an Elementary Theatrical Production
Next Post: Interesting Facts About The Shipping Industry »

Reader Interactions

A beginner's guide to growing herbs

Comments

  1. dixya @food, pleasure, and health says

    at

    i agree 100% with you on self-care…its so different for everyone and that it changes everyday. your post is so relatable because sometimes due to society/media, you feel like you need to practice self-care but it shouldnt be the case. thank you for this post!

  2. Neha Gandhi says

    at

    Great post. I really enjoyed reading it and it gave me so many ideas
    Thanks for sharing
    -Neha
    LovePlayingDressup

    • Tazim Damji says

      at

      You’re welcome! I’m glad you got some more ideas to try out!

Primary Sidebar

About:

Being Tazim Blog Vancouver Canada Lifestyle BlogI'm Tazim, a 40-year-old Vancouverite who is passionate about adventure, learning new things, and making connections. Content on Being Tazim ranges from smart ideas for plant-based cooking and baking to ways to enjoy life's experiences, to inspiration and information on attractions and travel destinations near and far. Read the full story here.

some tips on how to combat holiday season stress and anxiety, it’s time to take action. The holidays are a wonderful time of the year, but they can also be extremely stressful. 
How To Warmly Welcome Holiday Houseguests
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Footer

Let’s Connect!

Hey there! I'm Tazim and I'm a lifestyle, food, and travel writer and photographer. I inspire, motivate, and encourage my audience to explore their immediate surroundings and those further afield. I do this by sharing plant-based food recipes, ways to enhance my readers' homes and lives, and local and other attractions/travel destinations I experience. You can find my stories and adventures on my other blog Celebrate Life's Adventures Read more about me. . .

Being Tazim contains advertising banners and some contextual affiliate links. An affiliate link means I receive commission on sales of the products or services that are linked to in my posts. So, if you click on a link and make a purchase from an affiliate site, then I may make a commission from that purchase. I only work with affiliates I genuinely love and fit my brand.

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Tazim Damji is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by · Shay Bocks Genesis Framework · Built on the WordPress