How does this statement make you feel? Do you believe it? Do you have a routine in place that prioritizes your self-care? Do you stick to your routine no matter what?

I recently came across an article that contained a study by Kelton Global, funded by Birchbox, that listed some startling statistics when it comes to self-care here in the United States. The study asked 1000 parents about self-care and here are some of the findings:

45% of parents don’t feel they have time to engage in caring for themselves

67% of parents care for others over themselves

51% of people in the United States are feeling burnt out

1 in 3 people feel guilty for taking time for themselves

and

ONLY 30% of people are actually taking time to take care of themselves!

Did you see that last percentage – ONLY 30%!! I am absolutely not surprised by this while at the same time, kinda surprised. No wonder so many of us feel like we are drowning in stress, are operating on fumes, and just have an overall sense of feeling beat down and burnt out. We’ve GOT to do better!

Right now, 1 in 3 of us feels guilty if we prioritize ourselves and just over half of us are feeling burnt out. So, what can we do? How can we change our habits and patterns in our lives to ensure we are priority #1 without feeling guilty? What are we afraid of when it comes to taking care of ourselves? Why are we okay with this whole idea that as parents we are suppose to put ourselves on the back burner and keep the focus on everyone/everything else?

What would your world look like if you were priority #1? What would you be able to accomplish in a day if you took even five minutes each morning/afternoon/night completely focused on you?

Would you be a better version of yourself?