The Necessity of Self-Care

“Self-care is not a luxury. Indeed not, it allows us to show up in this tumultuous world as the best versions of ourselves.”

Lately, the topic of self-care has been on my mind fairly frequently- and I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps it is the mounting stress that has been present from my job or my more recent struggles with “mid-semester burnout.” Maybe it has to do with the pressure I’m feeling from my dad- as he seems to expect more of me than I’ve been able to deliver adequately or the chaos that has been my gym schedule for the past few weeks. Regardless of the reason (or reasons), I’ve been in dire need of some peace and relaxation.

To be 100% honest, I’m not normally someone who takes much time to care for myself. My attention remains divided between my family, educational and occupational obligations, and maintaining relationships with those I cherish. It’s been said before that I care more about others than I do myself- which I’d love to believe is true. Working in the customer service industry for as long as I have, it’s easy to identify where my needs became secondary to those I serve. In large part, I feel that this has translated into my personal and professional life- which can be seen as both a positive and a negative. While trying to maintain a selfless attitude and, in an extension, an attitude of service is an admirable thing, overdoing it can lead to exhaustion, anxiety, stress, and general overexertion. The most important relationship that anyone can have is the one that they have with themselves; in order to effectively maintain this, a person has to make time to focus their attention on their own needs. This isn’t selfish- in fact, this is one of the best things you can do, both for yourself and for those around you. Creating a positive relationship with yourself through self-care encourages not only the cultivation of a healthier lifestyle, but also decreases stress, increases self-confidence and gives you a more positive outlook on life.

Self-Care: One Correct Formula?

What exactly constitutes self-care? The simple answer is this- absolutely anything and everything that brings you in touch with your truest self. For some, this could mean switching off their phones, disconnecting from social media, and taking a day to do nothing but relax and decompress. For others, it could mean spending time alone- focusing on improving their overall lifestyle to better benefit them. My ideal “self-care” activities generally include cooking (for whatever reason, I find it therapeutic), reading, solo gym sessions, or spending time with my family (generally, this includes watching Jazz or Utes games together.) Regardless of how lame I’m sure that sounds, these activities bring me more in touch with myself and help me forget about the stresses of life for a while. The trick here is identifying activities that allow you to distance yourself from negative thoughts/feelings. Though stress will always be present to a degree, engaging in self-care- even just for a few minutes at a time- can help mitigate those feelings of emotional or physical tension that tend to creep in.

There’s no one correct formula to making self-care a priority. Every person will take a different approach to it- as every person has a different relationship with his/herself and every person has different needs when it comes to caring for themselves. Generally speaking, self-care activities fall into one of seven categories: sensory, pleasure, mental/mastery, spiritual, emotional, physical, or social. It’s a common misconception that self-care always means disconnecting from others to place sole focus on yourself. For some, this may be of benefit- however, it’s equally important to recognize that others go through similar experiences and that we’re never truly alone. Human connection is an essential part of life- and one that doesn’t necessarily have to be sacrificed in order to create and cultivate the person you want to become.

For myself, connection has been essential to my growth as an individual. While there are days that I crave my own company, more often than not, I prefer the company of others. This is difficult- as, for the most part, my friends are few and far in-between. I was never the most popular (despite my cheerleader “status” in high school) and have only been involved in two “romantic” relationships from the time I was 16 (neither of which were the most positive of experiences). Despite this, I know that there are people who care about me and who I can talk to when these feelings make themselves known. As they say, quality vs. quantity. Having a few great friends in your life is far superior than having several mediocre ones.

Ads: Relevance in Business

Moving on to focus upon the “reflection” part of this assignment (or, more accurately, the portion of the assignment required for my MKT 250-Web Business Creation- course,) I’ll be focusing upon the relevancy of advertising in terms of business. Advertising is essentially the most important thing that a business owner can do in terms of earning a sufficient revenue and gaining loyal clientele. Think about it this way- how would anyone know about your business or product without it being advertised? Better yet, would you be able to sell your product if no one knew your business or product existed? The answer to that would be a resounding, “No.”

The term “advertising” is defined as: The attempt to influence the buying behavior of customers or clients with a persuasive selling message about products and/or services . In business, the goal of advertising is to attract new customers by defining the target market and reaching out to them with an effective ad campaign.” Advertising can be used in many different ways- from promoting new products, to promoting sales, to promoting differentiation between competing brands. Ads can be digital, virtual, printed or even auditory- and are made completely unique to the brand, product or service that they promote. In my mind, advertising is its own form of communication; each ad tells a consumer a story which conveys to them why a product or service should be invested in. If the story is convincing and is correctly targeted to the demographic of people it is meant to reach, these individuals will likely be more incentivized to make a purchase- which will equate to a higher revenue for your business (and, a larger payday for you- which would be a plus!)

Advertising may seem like a simple concept, however, it is important to recognize that several entities play into the overall success (or failure) of an ad. Ads can neither be too specific or too general in terms of content; trying to advertise utilizing such methods will ultimately result in a loss of clientele. Either consumers will be unable to locate your ad as the terminology used is too complicated or your ad will be visible, but irrelevant- as other companies are producing ads with similar content that are more visible based on the company’s wealth and overall establishment. Advertising must also be relevant to the market/demographic that a company is trying to target; in order to ensure that the correct demographic is viewing your message, you must be able to identify where this market is most active and what they are searching for in terms of products (or, perhaps, how that product/service fulfills their need). As stated by Leo Burnett, “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” If we approach advertising in this manner, we will be more likely to obtain the views and profits we seek- while also giving our business a potential competitive advantage. The more visible an ad is, the more likely clientele will take notice- which will encourage not only the success of your business, but also your success as an individual.