Self-Care, Growth, and Well-Being – A Guide for Professional Women

If you go on any streaming platform or social media site, it’s likely you’ll have across these three buzz words: self-care, growth, and well-being. But what do these terms actually mean?

They’re each valuable in their own right, but they are in many ways synonymous.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed with information and expectations of what it means to better ourselves, and that can make it quite hard to know if we are actually achieving it.

Let’s break it down.

Self Care

According to the NHS, ‘self-care is recommended when you have a minor condition which doesn’t normally need medical care’. I do not believe this to be true. We don’t (or at least shouldn’t!) wait until our cars are broken to get them serviced – vehicles need biannual check-ups.

Self-care is essentially exactly as it sounds: caring for yourself, just as you would a loved one.

It means to stay in tune with your emotions and needs, and to carve out time to ensure they are met and preserved.

Below are the 7 pillars of self-care:

Mental – are you stimulating your intellect?
Emotional – are you expressing your feelings and seeking support when needed?
Physical – are you exercising and fuelling your body?
Environmental – is your environment safe and harmonious?
Spiritual – this can look like: meditation, prayer, spending time in nature.
Professional – do you have a healthy work-life balance?
Social – do you feel connected to those around you? Are you indulging in fun and recreation?

Remember, this list is just a guide; self-care is individual and it important to tailor your self-care practices to your preferences and circumstances.

In my experience, investing at least an hour of self-care once a week is best effective and most sustainable.

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Growth

Like self-care, growth is categorically individual – and it’s a harder to measure.

When I searched ‘How do we measure growth’, lots of unhelpful answers came up. Shout out specifically to those sites who advised me to take out a tape measure. Yes, sure, we can quantify growth by height, but I realised the only way we can truly measure growth is by comparison.

So, we created our comprehensive growth model, as follows:

Gratitude and Goals
Reflect
Observe
Wonder
Time
Herald

Gratitude and Goals

Start off by jotting down what you are grateful for in your life right now. This is nice to look back on, but also helps to ground you in the here and now.

Now that you’ve set the foundations of gratitude, note down your goals and give yourself something tangible to work towards – this is how you measure where you are and where you’d like to be.

Reflect

As I mentioned, growth is not possible without hindsight. Think back to where you were this time last week, last month, last year, and write it down. We change every day, and it’s important to monitor regularly and document so we can stay guided on the right path.

Observe

We live in such a beautiful world: Take a moment to notice all the pockets of growth happening around you – this could be the trees, your house plants, or your kiddos. Learn to appreciate and admire natural cycles and progression.

Wonder

Question everything! Well, not everything, that would be exhausting. But don’t be afraid to let your mind wonder – it’s important to have ‘stupid’ conversations (both with ourselves and others) as they are often a gateway to creativity, innovation, and new discoveries.

Time

Growth takes time; Rome wasn’t built in a day. Be patient and grateful for every new day.

Herald

Celebrate your growth and achievements! Alternatively, if you find yourself stuck in a rut, now is the time to seek advice and support from colleagues, friends, or loved ones; it is a valuable step in our shared journey of growth.

Wellbeing

Well-being is essentially the umbrella term for the aforementioned. It refers to your overall health and state of mind.

The most important aspects of well-being are balance and purpose. Are you managing stress? Do you have direction and passion?

This is where you need to rely on what your gut is telling you. Perhaps you really are happy, or perhaps something could change…

What's the takeaway?

Self-care, growth, and well-being are integral components to our human experience – it’s not separate from us, and it’s certainly not separate from our career.

Be the best version of you by taking care of yourself, and your needs.

ProspHER can support you in evolving your story and progressing professionally with passion, purpose and power – find out how here.

This article was researched and written by Bronte Littlewood, Freelance writer at ProspHER.