Defeat Burnout with a Strong Daily Recharge

How often have you found yourself glancing down at your phone and realizing that it needed a charge? What do you do then? Do you stay still allowing that battery to drain until no juice is left? Shrug your shoulders and just figure you’ll get to a charger later?

If you are like most people, you are not standing still when that “low battery” appears on your screen. It’s likely you jumped right into action to locate a charger. It’s likely, too, that you sighed just a little bit as you beat the clock and got it plugged into the wall in just the nick of time.

Do you take better care of your phone than you do yourself?

Do you rush to “plug” yourself in with the same urgency you did for that cell phone? Think about that. Swallow that down for a minute.

How does that feel?

When I was living my burned out life, the reality that I treated my cell phone to the luxury of a re-charge more than I did myself was, dare I say it, embarrassing.

That cell phone gets a break every day. It gets a charge every day. So, why don’t you?

Why is it that the very thought of taking time to pump in a little self care makes you feel guilty?

I understand that the reverse is true. We live in a time where everything seems to be a little too centered around what makes us happy. For the record, I don’t believe we should always be happy.

Hiding away on my favorite chair and binge reading book after book makes me happy. I could do it, certainly. It would, however, come at great expense.

I wouldn’t be able to earn a living. My children would have to raise themselves. I would neglect the relationships and companionship around me, which would be ultimately detrimental to my humanity.

So, no, we should not always do what makes us happy.

We should, I believe, strive for some sort of contentment within our own lives. That’s not to say perfection. And that’s certainly not to say that we should have a life of complete ease. That isn’t living at all. Struggle, hardships, broken hearts, pain, death, disease all exist around us.

If instead we can learn to be content while living through both the highs and lows of life, that picture would be quite different.

Part of that contentment requires self care- a daily commitment to your body and soul to maintain care of the precious gift you’ve been given.

I take time to take care of myself every day. No, I don’t visit the spa daily. I do not sit and have endless pamper sessions. I actually cannot remember the last time I splurged on such luxury, it’s been quite awhile.

I do, however, take the time each day to spend with God. I do purposefully pursue a walk with Jesus each day. This is my largest and strongest source of daily self care. I find greater rest, wisdom, peace, patience, and overall stronger fortitude for life though this simple self care act.

I have found this the most useful way for me to recharge myself. It took me quite a long time to figure out that sitting quietly reading my Bible and praying were the greatest form of restful self care that I could receive.

Greater than the over priced spa, better than the 90 minute massage. More restorative than any walk on the beach (although that is one of my favs), and certainly longer lasting that the most decadent dark chocolate I could get my hands on. Although all of these things are awesome, they do not sustain me in the same, steady way.

The self care picture looks different for us all, as so many things do. I don’t put down any form of healthy self care that you have found which works for you. I share mine only to share what I have found that worked, long term, for me.

I encourage you all to take time to recharge today, and every day. Feel free to share your favorite way to care for yourself! Connect with me on socials, or email me!