I heard a renowned psychotherapist say this in a presentation, once.
“I have no doubt you would instantly push a child out of danger, if she were standing in the path of an on-coming school bus, but I am not certain you would then act to save yourself. You must come to your own assistance too.“
I internalized it as a call for balance, because sometimes coming to your own assistance means calling out to one who may be in a position to help. The key is in taking action.
Self-care is, at first, an internal decision to come to your own assistance, followed by reaching out to someone who can provide the means and the skill to help.
Saving myself might look like enlightened eating, loving my body enough to move it and break a sweat, unplugging and getting on a massage table, taking a hike, or accepting a lunch invitation from a new friend. This sounds like functional adult behavior!
And functional adult behavior invites others to practice the same, which means this: coming to your own assistance usually results in more hands coming to your side than you expected.
To listen to an audio version of this blogpost, click HERE.
RJR Self-Care 