The Ultimate Cure-The Ultimate Self-Care

"There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure,
but I don't know many of them."
-- Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

I love this quote, but for some reason I’ve never written about it. I’d look at it, ponder about it, then move on to something else. Promoting a hot bath as the ultimate cure of anything seemed a little too decadent or too simple or something.

It’s strange because, here I am, a proclaimed “self-care specialist” and I’ve avoided writing about one of life’s greatest pleasures, a hot bath. What’s THAT all about? Hot baths have been around for a very long time. It’s a fabulous, yet inexpensive way to practice self-care.

Remember the old Calgon commercials? For those of you who are a bit younger than me, it featured a woman escaping into a hot bubble bath with the phrase, “Calgon, take me away!”
How many times do you see someone soaking in a bubble bath surrounded with candles, listening to music and savoring the moment….not in person perhaps (!), but on TV, in the movies, etc.

I would guess that we think about doing it for ourselves many more times than we actually do it. I know lots of people that were so excited to put a spa tub in their new bathroom anticipating long luxurious baths and then later report they hardly use it!

Is that you? If it’s not a hot bath you put off, maybe it’s scheduling a massage or coffee with a friend or any number of fabulous self-care activities.

So what gets in the way of you taking the steps to take care of yourself? Do you, like me, think it’s too decadent or too easy of a solution? How often do you think about how great it would be to pamper yourself a little bit, but there’s just one more thing to get done, one more chore, one more project one more phone call.

What makes you think that your self-care belongs on the bottom of your priority list? I challenge you to move your self-care up the list. You deserve it. As Stuart Smalley says, “You’re good enough, you’re smart enough and gosh darn it, people like you!!”

Be your own best friend and tell yourself that it’s time to allow some regular self-care in your life. Put it on your schedule and do it!! Let me know what self-care activities you plan to include in the next few days.

This is your life……make every day a spa day!