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Mojo Monday - Changing the Narrative Around Self Care With Carly Taylor · Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Have everyone.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Carly Taylor here for this week's Mojo Monday. So when
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: you hear the words self care, what comes to mind?
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: So maybe you picture retreating into your home, running a bath,
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: lighting candles, relaxing, Or maybe it's just switching off your
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: phone so no one can reach you, or taking a
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: day off work or school just to kind of reset.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: And don't get me wrong, these things are lovely, but
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: when you look closely, they all share a bit of
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: a theme, and that is around comfort and avoidance. So
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: they're about easing discomfort, soothing stress, or escaping the world
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: for a little while. And there's nothing wrong with comfort,
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: It's part of being human. We love to seek comfort,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: but I think we've started to confuse relief with care.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: So true self care isn't about feeling better in the moment.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: What it's about is functioning better in the long run.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: So think about it this way. Self care is it's
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: not a bubble bath. It's more maintenance.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: So you can't drive a car forever without.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Refueling and servicing it and cleaning it out, and without
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: those basics, the car will break down. So us humans
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: are exactly the same. We can't expect to feel calm
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: and connected or capable if we're not consistently tending to
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: our most basic needs. And self care isn't selfish or
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: self indulgent, it's actually self respect. It's how we create
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: that baseline that allows us to show up well for
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: others and face life's inevitable challenges.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: So what does self care look like?
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: So it is around the fundamental, So about moving your
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: body daily, not just for fitness, but to release stress
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: hormones and boost mood, Eating nutritious foods that genuinely fuel you.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Getting enough sleep. This is huge because your brain literally
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: cleans itself while you sleep, staying hydrated, spending time with
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: people who lift you up. Connection is just so important,
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Getting sunlight in the morning to help you circadian rhythms,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: doing one thing each day that brings you a sense
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: of purpose or joy. So they are the fundamentals, and
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: without them the other stuff, all the candles and the
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: face masks and the mean time, which are important, as
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: I said, but they are really decoration on top of
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: the exhaustion. So here's something interesting from the research. Psychologists
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  Speaker 2: have found that consistent self care predicts resilience when you
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: engage in daily habits that support your body and your mind.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Your stress response becomes more flexible, so you recover faster,
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  Speaker 2: you think more clearly, you handle challenges with a greater perspective. So,
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: in other words, real self care isn't an escape from life.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: It's what equips you to engage with it fully. And
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: if we only practice self care when we're burnt out,
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: it's like waiting for the fuel light to come on
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: before filling the tank. But when we build it into
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: our daily routine, it becomes prevention rather than repair. So
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: maybe the real question is what do I need to
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: do today to take care of the future me. So
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: it might not always feel cozy or glamorous. Sometimes self
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: care it takes a lot of work. It's getting up
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: early to do that exercise if you can't fit it
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: in at any other time when all you'd rather do
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: is stay in bed. It's meal planning for the week,
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: make an effort to cook nutritious food. It's connecting with
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: people on a regular basis and making that extra effort
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: with those people that are meaningful to you. It's putting
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: the phone down and going to sleep and making sure
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: you're getting that eight hours. You know, that's the kind
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: of self care that builds strength, not just comfort. So
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: this week, instead of asking what will make me feel
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: better right now, try asking what will make me more
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  Speaker 2: capable tomorrow? And I think we need to change the
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: narrative around self care. So the goal of self care
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: isn't to soothe yourself in that moment.
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: Self care is ongoing. It's about consistency.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: It's about your daily habits to support yourself.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: So how are you supporting yourself this week?
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  Speaker 2: What are you doing every single day that is going
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  Speaker 2: to give you that level of baseline that you are
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: going to be as optimal as as you can whatever
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: you circumstances, Because that is what self care is.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Have a great week, everybody. I'll catch you next week.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: See ya.