Self-Care: The Often Forgotten Quality of Leadership

“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.”

                                                                                     – Jean Shinoda Bolen

During many of these blog posts, I have discussed the importance of being of service to living an impactful and fulfilling life. 

Specifically, when one combines what they love doing, with what they are great at and with that, provide a high degree of service to others, a recipe for a truly Championship Life can be realized. 

However, while doing acts of service is an integral part of experiencing happiness and fulfillment in our lives, who is the one person we tend to take care of the least? Is it ourselves?

In fact, it’s been my experience that this is a very familiar trait, particularly with those who are in “service industries”, such as health care, human resources and customer service (to name just a few).  However, taking care of ourselves is one of the most important things we can do to truly serve others.  Or as one of my teachers once told me………

 “You must take care of yourself, so you can help take care of others”

In other words, we must diligently practice Self-Care in order to be fully available to serve the world.

Why Self-Care?  Well despite the obvious physical, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits of taking great care of ourselves, it is truly the best way we can make ourselves available to serve others over a sustained period of time – making it a necessary practice of effectively serving others.

Unfortunately, Self-Care is often the most forgotten quality of leadership.

Think of it this way, “only a full heart can give fully”.  Anything less and you are short-changing not only yourself, but also those you serve as you are not showing up as your whole, magnificent and complete self.

You can’t give what you don’t have.  If your bank account is empty, there is no money to give.  If your “emotional bank account” is empty, you have nothing to give of value, as well.  In fact, I have found that the more I attempt to give from an “empty account” the more irritable, impatient and even resentful I become, which usually means I am much less impactful in providing the service I intend to give.

In practicing Self-Care you also create a powerful distinction of being a “care-giver”, or one who supports others from a position of fullness and strength and as a result empowers them, versus being a “care-taker” who gives without regard for self which inevitably weakens the giver and the receiver.

Health Care reform is the hot topic of today’s national political debate.  While I truly believe that adequate, effective and affordable health care is the right of all individuals (this is not going to turn into a political posting), I also believe that the primary responsibility for our health lies with us. 

To truly experience health and vitality in our lives, it is essential for us to incorporate healthy habits that support our bodies, minds and spirits in experiencing overall health and well-being. 

While there is always a possibility for us to need additional medical care for things outside of our control, I believe it is our absolute responsibility to do all we can to support our own health and well-being.   Proper nutrition, rest, exercise (movement) and supportive mental/emotional/spiritual practices are key to us experiencing overall health and well-being.  Or as medical study after study over time has shown……………………..

Self-Care is the BEST Health Care.

 This week, I challenge all of us (myself, included) to take a serious look at our Self-Care practices and see where we can up-level our game in the area of taking care of ourselves.  Here are three practices I believe can help all of us in being consistent and effective in our overall Self-Care.

• Make a List– Make a detailed list of all of the Self-Care activities you enjoy doing. The key here is to list the things you enjoy. We all know that even though something may be “good” for us, if we don’t enjoy doing it, it won’t become a consistent practice in our lives.  Some activities to consider – walks in nature, reading inspirational books, preparing healthy meals, gratitude journaling, adequate sleep, meditation, planned vacations, etc.

• Schedule your Activities – That’s right, schedule your Self-Care. It is often the case that we do Self-Care practices AFTER we get everything else done.  My question for you is, “How’s that working for you?”.  We all know that “life happens” and unexpected events pop up with great frequency that can overtake our time and attention.  When Self-Care becomes and “anchor” in your calendar, that chances of you taking part in your practices increases dramatically.

• Practice, practice, practice – That’s right, Self-Care is a practice. It is something we do and continue to evolve into as time goes on.  The key here is to be patient with yourself and be careful about judging yourself about whether you are doing in correctly, or not.  Also, if you miss a day, refrain from beating yourself up.  However, keep this in mind, if you miss a day, you miss a day – just don’t miss two days 😊.

So, there you have it, friends.  Let’s commit this week to really taking care of ourselves.  Let’s make Self-Care a priority in our lives so we can show up as the best version of ourselves to serve others.  Let’s include those we love in this “Self-Care Revolution” so we can help to take care of others by first truly taking care of ourselves.

Chris Natzke

Black Belt Leadership Speaking & Coaching