What Is Self Care?

In this shorter format episode, Alex Brodie talks about the importance of saving time to focus on yourself so you can be the best version you can be for your family. 

There will be some soothing sounds part way through the episode in order to reflect on your day through a few moments of silence. 

What is self-care?

It's basically the stuff you do to take care of yourself, like getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and exercising. But it's also about taking time for yourself to relax and do things that make you happy. It's important to take care of yourself, especially when life gets stressful. That's why I try to make sure I take some time every day to do something for myself, like reading a book or going for a walk. You should give it a try, it really makes a difference! 

Transcript

Transcripts are Auto-Generated

00;00;00;23 - 00;00;30;26
Alex Brodie
Oh. What is up, fellow? Dad or dad? Adjacent. How are you doing today? Really? How are you doing today? Because that's going to be the focus of today's episode. Welcome back to The Help. I'm a Dad podcast where we talk about everything related to fatherhood or just being a good parent. I'm your host, Alex Brody. And before we dive into how you're doing, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to Katie for supporting the podcast and being a monthly subscriber.

00;00;31;10 - 00;01;05;22
Alex Brodie
Very much appreciated. Very humbling and sad. I hope you enjoy today's podcast. Now let's get into it. As dads, we often put ourselves last. We're busy taking care of our families, our jobs and everything else in between. For instance, I'm working on remodeling the stairs to the basement. I've never done that before. You can imagine the amount of work that's gone into that and the trials and tribulations and all the things that I needed to learn along the way, as well as a couple of extra tools that, oh my goodness, made the thing so much easier.

00;01;05;23 - 00;01;31;25
Alex Brodie
Also showed it to my neighbors who are freaking amazing. It's super important to remember that in order to be the best dad that we can be, we have to take care of ourselves, too. Which means making time for ourselves. Self-care is not a luxury. It's a necessity. It's about making sure that we're physically, mentally and emotionally healthy so that we as partners and as fathers, as Father Adjacency.

00;01;31;27 - 00;01;52;02
Alex Brodie
If you don't identify as a father so that we can be there for our families when they need us most, or when they need us least just so we can always be present. But it's not always easy to find time for ourselves. As dads. We have so many responsibilities, and believe me, I'm not diminishing in the role of the mother or the other partner or partners.

00;01;52;08 - 00;02;19;26
Alex Brodie
But this is about you who is listening right now. And often we feel guilty if we take time away from our families. We feel guilty if we take half an hour to do something for ourselves, because we could be optimizing and using that time to be productive. But here's the thing. Doing nothing can be very productive. It can be us repairing ourselves and processing everything that's happened throughout the day or the week.

00;02;19;26 - 00;02;42;21
Alex Brodie
If you only get one moment for yourself in a whole week, it's worth it. It's important to remember that when we take care of ourselves, we're actually taking care of our families, too. When we're feeling our best. We're better equipped to handle the challenges that come our way. How often has a situation popped up where you were short tempered because you were out of balance or you were a little bit tired or you were even hangry.

00;02;42;26 - 00;03;15;04
Alex Brodie
You didn't even focus on yourself and realized that you needed a snack. So, look, one way to take care of ourselves is by taking a few minutes each day to reflect on your day and how we are feeling. This is a format of the podcast that I'm going to be fielding going forward, and it's a shorter format. But the point is you're actively listening to a podcast right now or passively, but I want to afford you this opportunity while you have your earbuds in or while you're doing the dishes to not focus on something else but focus on yourself right?

00;03;15;11 - 00;04;36;05
Alex Brodie
I'm inviting you to take a short break with me right now in this moment, and just enjoy the silence and be with yourself and your thoughts. So I'm going to play a short amount of silence or white noise, and I'll see you on the other side. Okay. But I will be here for you when you get back. Okay?

00;04;36;06 - 00;05;10;02
Alex Brodie
And we're back. How did that feel? Was it easy or was it difficult to sit in that silence? Did you feel uncomfortable? Did you feel relieved? Did you enjoy it? Did you find it challenging? Did anything specific come to mind? As dads, we often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We're always on the go, always doing something, but taking a few minutes each day to sit in silence and reflect can help bring some much needed perspective to our own lives.

00;05;10;20 - 00;05;37;16
Alex Brodie
It can help us appreciate the little things and remind us of what's truly important. So as we continue our journey together, I'll be asking you thought provoking questions each week or other week or whenever I do these episodes to help you reflect on your experiences as a dad or as just a human being. And we'll be exploring a few different ways to take care of ourselves and how to balance the demands of being a dad with the need for self-care.

00;05;37;22 - 00;05;59;24
Alex Brodie
So let me know what you think. I have a voicemail set up where you can call in. Leave your email and I can get back to you. You can DM me on Instagram, but I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. And for now, let's just take a moment to appreciate that silence that we were just in and the potential peace that it can afford us.

00;06;00;05 - 00;06;17;02
Alex Brodie
Thanks for being a part of this community and following us wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to leave some of your insights, you can find us on Instagram. Currently at Help. I'm a Dad podcast. Or click the link in the description to leave a voicemail. We'd love to hear from you. Your message might even be featured on a future episode of our show.

00;06;17;17 - 00;06;22;29
Alex Brodie
We appreciate your support and can't wait to hear from you. Much love.