I Treat My ________ Better Than My Body

Early on in my coaching career, I had a client who—like many of us—felt that she knew what to do to get herself fit and healthy, but could not seem to get herself to commit to actually doing these things.

Cara* and I talked a lot about her WHY. Why did she want to get herself fit and healthy?

Tapping into our why is what gives us the motivation to take action.

Cara had some sort of generic responses like “I want to be healthier” and “I want to be able to keep up with my kids”, but none of her responses were very emotionally charged.

I asked Cara to tell me about something she really loved and she started talking about a car she had owned several years ago. Cara was really *into* cars, like muscle cars; and having a car that she loved was important to her.

Cara’s cars were always pristine—washed, waxed, shiny, and pretty.

I asked Cara what it would be like for her to take care of herself in the same way that she took care of her car.

Cara started to cry—always a good indicator of an emotional charge!

She had never thought about the fact that she took better care of A CAR than

of her own body. This gave Cara a powerful why—she would feel valued and respected when she treated herself as lovingly as she treated her car(s).

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Cara is not alone. So many of us place ourselves low, low, low on the priority list…

We take care of our kids, partner, house, and a myriad of other things before even considering our own needs. In fact, if we treated our kids like we treat ourselves, we might actually be considered neglectful.

How is it that we often don’t find ourselves worthy of even the most basic level of care—providing ourselves with wholesome food, adequate sleep, kind words, etc.?

You deserve to treat yourself with the same respect and compassion that you so freely give to others—really, truly.

Self-care leads to self-respect. Self-respect leads to self-acceptance. Self-acceptance rocks.

*Nope, Cara is not her name