Life-Coach and author Mastin Kipp says that prioritizing our own self-care is one of the key indicators that we are healing from trauma. It also works the other way around. The more consistent we are, the more we heal and have healed. It’s no wonder I’m so passionate about it and have created so many resources to keep you committed to yours. From the Mu Membership to Self-Care School (for the beginners), you’ll learn why my personal slogan selfless self-care™ is truly so transformative.
As you may or may not know, I believe in discipline as much as I believe in pleasure. I believe in the healing power of nature, movement, clean foods as much as the curative effects of play, a hard laugh, and a slice of cake. True selfless self-care is all of it. Beyond the obvious and overshared, I wanted to really model what self-care can look like. These are five weird (and seriously specific and weird) things that feel like self-care for me:
1. Playing the Legend of Zelda
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Legend of Zelda is literally a spiritual experience for me. The music, the graphics, the premise - everything - all brings me to a place reminiscent of my childhood and simultaneously completely present. The nostalgia-factor in this video game runs so deep it sends me to another dimension. For me, the best part of the 2020 quarantine was shamelessly plopping down and replaying The Ocarina of Time. Though gaming seems like a vegetative indulgence, this game requires a good amount of problem-solving and critical thinking. I love that flow state.
2. UFC Fight Nights
UFC is another guilty pleasure of mine, but this one truly requires nothing of me other than having a good time. Aside from my circus gypsy great aunt (more on that another time), my favorite personal ancestry fact is that my grandpa, a failed boxer, holds the record for getting knocked down and getting back up more times in one professional fight than anyone else in the world. Maybe it’s my gritty genes, but I actually love the prelims more than the main card most of the time. The scrappier the better. Fights rev me up more than anything.
3. Eating Salt and Vinegar Chips or Cheez-Its
About once every two months or so, I go absolutely HAM on a bag, box or cylinder of these suckers. If I could trust myself to enjoy them in moderation, I’d have a supply at home at all times, but I simply cannot. Thus, when the day comes (I just know when I know), I treat myself and enjoy every salty, crunchy lick. I could honestly throw Goldfish in this mix too. Mm. Sometimes nothing soothes my soul more.
4. Telling Ghost Stories
Why is anything creepy, unexplainable or twisted the most alluring, invigorating thing to me? I honestly can’t really explain, but it’s been this way as long as I can remember. When I’m telling or listening to a scary story, I get this jittery, electrified feeling in my bones. It feels like my lifeblood. It feels like the satisfying bite a rabid chihuahua takes out of a mailman’s leg. It just is what it is. Nourishing.
5. Calling My Sister To Quote Spongebob Squarepants and Nothing Else
Whenever my sister and I talk, it’s usually about a whole lot of nothing, but there are times where that whole lot of nothing is a whole lot more of nothing. These calls are my favorite ones. We usually FaceTime from a really unflattering angle and throw out lines like, “Is this the Krusty Krab?” only for her to follow up with, “No, this is Patrick!” or to fight about which one of us is Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry or to sing “Striped Sweater,” together in a perfect, off-key symphony. Nick says he knows whenever I’m on the phone with Samantha because he can hear me laughing from the other room. There’s nothing better, honestly.
So maybe I can’t do all of these all the time, everyday. And maybe none of these fit in the “discipline” category of self-care. But to me, they’re just as important as the movement, the health, the growth and the intentional stuff. To me, they are the joys of living and the joys of living are invaluable. What are your unlikely forms of self-care? Make a list and sprinkle them throughout your days.
If you need help rediscovering, rebalancing or giving yourself permission to live joyfully, reach out to me for a 1:1. Let’s figure out what true self-care looks like for you.
