What does it mean to practice self-care? Self-care means creating a space and a healthy mind and body to support you in being the best you can be. If your space is filled with chaos, drama, disorganization, sadness and negativity then greatness cannot easily occur.

We have so many choices in our daily life that either support us or diminish us in some way. For example, we can choose to exercise, be positive or negative, creative or continue to be stale, inspiring or judgmental, brave or fearful, and so on. We are the creators of our space, and can either build our health or chip away at it.

Who would you be if you had enough money that you didn’t have to worry about it? How about enough love or friends that you didn’t have to search for them?

Self-care is really about putting your needs first so you may have: all the energy, positive outlook, generosity, love and more to give to everyone else. If you don’t fill these things for yourself you won’t have them to give away to others. So, if your past issues are all resolved, then you won’t bring baggage with you to your relationships. It’s evident then, that you are not being selfish but self nurturing.

If your needs are not met you will be searching them out in other people. As a consequence, you will not be creating your “own” life, but living the life others are giving you. Remember, you are the star in the movie of your life, so you get to write most of the script yourself. Are you writing your own script?

If you are struggling with self-care, taking an assessment of your life is important. The primary areas of this assessment should include: spirituality, personal space, career, family, physical, emotional health and community. Begin by writing down three things in each category that need attention. Also, devote some serious effort to eliminating any problem issues. At that point, you will be able to look ahead one year to see how problem free your life will have gotten.