Today I heard that a good friend, and someone I really look up to as a runner, has made the decision to pull out of the Great South Run this weekend. I’ve never managed a 10 mile race but I really care about my running and love taking part in races. Earlier this month I had to decide not to run an 8k, and it was really disappointing, albeit sensible. So I can imagine how she feels, and I empathise.
It is hard to make a sensible decision, especially when you have worked so hard towards a goal. Sometimes, putting our own wellbeing at a high priority means we can’t do what we want or we have to face disappointment. It’s a weighing up process and we sometimes have to miss out now in order to have a better chance of feeling better later on.
I didn’t always understand this. Like many of us, I have learned from many sources that sacrifice, drivenness and working harder than is really good for us will be praised. That in order to achieve we must first suffer. I took these attitudes to heart, pushed myself remorselessly throughout my 30s and ended up paying for not looking after myself with a number of health issues.
Now, I am grateful that all this happened because I have learned a different way of being, deepened my spiritual life and made big alterations to how I live. My life today is much richer as a result. But it’s still not always easy to keep putting my wellbeing at the top of the priority pile, to remember, contrary to everything I believed a decade ago, that self care is a virtue.
How well do you look after yourself? Well enough or could do better? What would you do differently if your self-care was your highest priority? Or what do you do now that nurtures your wellbeing?
