the problem with self-care
Before I sat down to write this blog, I checked the dictionary for the definition of rejuvenation. I wanted to see what I was working with in terms of the general understanding of what it meant. Unsurprisingly, it means something different to Kristen and I than the technical dictionary definition.
If you ask most people what they need to do to recover from burnout, they will tell you to practice (more) self-care. As Kristen and I continue to teach our philosophy of recovery, the less we like to use the word self-care to describe it.
For a lot of folks, self-care feels too big, too unwieldy, too unmanageable. It’s part of the reason we came up with our 4 R’s of Burnout Recovery. We wanted to make the process of recovering from or mitigating burnout simpler to comprehend. Just to be clear, simple doesn’t mean easy. We all know there’s nothing easy about being an adult.
So if we’re trying to make the process of burnout recovery simpler, why did we pick rejuvenation as one of our R’s?
what rejuvenation means to us
According to the dictionary, rejuvenation has something to do with making someone young or making something new. Like I said, that’s not how we view it. Rejuvenation to us means anything that brings you joy.
I can see how some might connect that to youthful energy, or finding your inner child. However you slice it, for us rejuvenation is essential to burnout recovery because joy is energizing. Joy is healing. Joy is necessary.
Taking all the bubble baths in the world might be what Instagram tells you to do for burnout, but does it bring you joy? In order to battle with burnout, we have to tap into those core emotions that give us energy, help restore us, and remind us what we love and value.
That’s what rejuvenation means to us and that’s why it’s one of our 4 R’s.
A gentle reminder that everyone’s rejuvenation might look different. The rule we follow here is first do no harm, then do you. Chase your joy. This life is hard. None of us get out alive. Why not make sure we experience as much joy as we can along the way?
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