Amidst a pandemic that we have now been involved with for over a year the term self-care has been much used, from face masks, to reading a good, to winding down with a cup of tea. The term self-care has given new meaning to activities we used to do to relax, wind down or even just care for ourselves. Meditation and working out have even now been considered a form of self-care, breaking away from your normal routines and getting your body moving in order to feel good both inside and outside. I do however think one part of self-care is constantly overlooked and that is who you surround yourself with, now more than ever is very important to your wellbeing.
As you get older friend groups get smaller and conversations with one another can sometimes be more spread out, all the more reason to pick the people you choose to surround yourself with carefully. Over this past year I have taken the time to focus on what is important to me and learned a lot about myself including what I want from the people in my life.
Personally, I am a quality over quantity gal. I do not need to be surrounded by numerous individuals who kind of like me, but instead prefer to have a few important people who are inputting the same time and energy into the relationship and know genuinely care.
I have come to realize that some people just are not meant to be lifelong friends but instead are meant to be in our lives for a shorter period and then leave. While friendship breakups do hurt and can be hard to understand I look at it as I myself am outgrowing these relationships and these individuals choose instead of growing with me to leave and there is nothing that I can do.
While you can sit their sulk and be upset that they do not want to be in your life anymore you can’t change what has happened, all you can do is move forward and continue to grow and take the higher road. Though this may not be a typically talked about variation of self-care this to me has become one of the most important, who you surround yourself with either brings you up or keeps you stagnant/ brings you down. Do not be afraid to be your genuine self and speak up when you aren’t happy, or don’t like the way you have been treated because there are plenty of other fish in the sea who would want to be your friend, you just have to go out there and look.
Self-care is not always the most popular option when it comes to situations like these, it’s the decision to put yourself and your wellbeing first above all else.
If I leave your with anything from this article I hope this one quote sticks with you, people are always going to have stuff to say whether you do something or not, it is what you choose to do in those situations that will stick with you.
“I’m not going to tear you down. If you’re bad-mouthing me, you’re already down” – Steve Maraboli