In this episode I have a wonderful and really important conversation with Jacklyn Osborn about self-care.
A successful and driven executive, she hit a point when she realized something needed to change. That realization was the start of a 52 week transformation journey that went on to become a community conversation through her podcast fiftytwoweeksofme.
Jacklyn’s take on self-care is simple yet revolutionary. You can’t change the world, do what you want, take care of your loved ones, have meaningful relationships if you don’t take care of your most important asset: you.
What, in fact, IS self-care?
If you are anything like me, I am pretty sure this is the image that question conjured up. If it is, this episode of Speaking with Women is for you. Early on in our chat my guest lays that wine, mani-pedi, facial vision of self-care to rest. What it is instead, Jacklyn Osborn argues, is putting your own oxygen mask first. Making sure you take care of yourself so you can show up for yourself and for others.
As women, there are so many reasons why this is an important conversation to have. There are so many things that stand in the way of our capacity for self-care (what capacity Bibi?): guilt, overwhelm, fatigue, shame, societal expectations…and sometimes just plain not knowing what self-care is in the first place.
The conversation with Jacklyn was so very timely for me. These last two weeks have been a study in intentional and often difficult decisions around self-care:
- Acknowledging what I needed by setting firm boundaries on my time
- Valuing my time by putting a monetary value to it and declining free work when it did not feel aligned
- Not pushing through exhaustion to continue working when my body was screaming “I am so done!!”
- Taking an online course instead of finishing a deliverable because learning gives me joy
- Being particularly mindful of my thoughts
Now the thing is, like everything else we try to accomplish, we often set a clock to it: when will I feel better? When will I see the results of these self-care practices?
When you hear your inner voice ask you those type of questions, shake your head and refuse the thought. It is not a thought that serves you, and worse, it diminishes the feeling of internal safety necessary to actual self-care.
Instead, try Jacklyn’s process of Awareness, Acceptance and Action.
I highly encourage you to try what she proposes and if you want to find out more about this amazing woman, you can find her here: LinkedIn
Her podcast can be found under fiftytwoweeksofme on all the major platforms
Find her Blog here
