The Self-Care Spectrum: Finding Balance Between Doing and Being
This week is my birthday, and for once, I’m making sure self-care is part of it. It has made me reflect on what self-care really looks like – not just on a birthday, but in everyday life.
Often, when we hear “self-care,” we think of candles, baths, and quiet moments. While these passive forms of self-care are soothing and essential – things like rest, meditation, or simply being still – there’s another side that is equally important.
Active self-care includes movement, creating, organising, connecting with friends, or even tackling that task you’ve been avoiding. It is about doing something that nurtures your body or mind. For me this week, active self-care might look like a long walk in nature, pottering in the garden, or baking something I love.
Passive self-care, on the other hand, is about being – letting yourself rest, switching off the to-do list, meditating, lying down with a good book, or sitting quietly with a cup of tea.
Both forms serve different roles:
Active self-care energises, empowers, and can lift us from stagnation or anxiety.
Passive self-care soothes, calms, and helps regulate an overwhelmed nervous system.
On my birthday this week, I plan to blend both: taking time to walk in the woods (active) and later curling up to read with my favourite candle lit (passive).
As you go through your week, consider:
✨ Where do I need more being?
✨ Where would a little doing support me?
✨ Can I gift myself both forms of self-care, not just one?
Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s how we keep giving to life and others without running dry. Whether it’s your birthday or an ordinary Thursday, you deserve moments of doing and being that refill your cup.
