Self Care Is Less About Quantity And More About Quality

Mid-winter is the pits. It’s the slump after holiday excitement and well before spring has given us that extra boost we need to keep going. But that’s the great thing about cycles. Each phase is temporary, even if it is recurring. So embrace it instead of trying to run from it, bemoan it, or pretend it doesn’t exist! While the Danes have Hygge to get them through, I have InCoWriMo, or International Correspondence Writing Month.

If you’ve been with me for a while now, you will most certainly have heard me talk of InCoWriMo, because I look forward to this event every year. As Lord Byron so eloquently stated, “Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.” and I couldn’t agree more.

But it’s not just about brewing a nice cup of tea, getting out my favorite pen, choosing the perfect piece of paper, and penning a thoughtful message to a loved one. It’s about slowing down and appreciating the ritual of thinking about others. It’s self-care in a most unselfish form indeed.

As has become evident over the past few years (thanks COVID), self-care is no longer optional. Under such long-standing duress, it’s become apparent just how vital self-care is. Without it, we risk losing sight of the bigger picture, feeling burned out, and struggling to do the day-to-day tasks necessary in life.

Thankfully self-care comes in as many forms as there are people. The only common thread is that it restores our hope, boosts our energy, and helps us gain a perspective that encourages and sustains us. And while I’ll binge an excellent T.V. series just as much as the next person, I’d argue that self-care is most effective when there is limited technology. When I come back to my routine after painting or walking my dog, I don’t feel that fog brain I get after binging on a show.

February in the northern hemisphere can be hard to get through. I’m grateful it’s only 28 days long. Still, if we can approach the month with a sense of curiosity, we can use this mid-winter slump to experiment with self-care. Going about the next 28 days, attuned to our mood when we’re limiting our tech use or cooking with our kids, for example, will help us make space for discovering our unique rhythms and how to incorporate self-care sustainably.

That’s what InCoWriMo is for me – a way to add a little self-care to my daily routine. It’s like a little mid-year advent that gives twice! Once when I’m writing and again when my recipient is reading. You may not be a letter-writer or someone who enjoys writing in any form, but you are someone who deserves some self-care.

Exploring different ways you can care for yourself doesn’t just benefit you but everyone you encounter because self-care compounds. It’s the most unselfish thing you can do because every opportunity you take to find more balance and peace is mirrored in the world around you.

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