Michelle Obama and not putting yourself last as a woman...

Michelle Obama’s bestseller, Becoming, is a timely read for many women.

I’ve been reading Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, and I have to say it’s not at all what I expected. In all honesty, the autobiography is not the first book I would normally grab off the shelves for myself to read. I generally try to avoid dwelling on the “P” word (politics) too much these days, and when I got a notification from the library that it had come in and was on hold I couldn’t even remember why I had ordered it (it’s certainly a popular book- I had to wait about a year to get it from the library).

But no sooner did I get it home and open the first couple of pages that I remembered I had ordered it because someone had told me it was good. And my gosh it certainly is.

One of my favorite quotes from the book so far is:

“So many of us go through life with our stories hidden, feeling ashamed or afraid when our whole truth doesn’t live up to some established ideal.” (From Becoming by Michelle Obama)

How many of us stand with parts of ourselves hidden in the shadows because of an invisible weight that tells us we’re not good enough? How many of us don’t stand fully in our own power and worth because we feel deep down that we don’t meet some fictionalized ideal?

I think this is also part of the reason why so many women put themselves last in their own lives. Thankfully though, this has also recently led to an ongoing discussion of self-care.

For myself, I’ve been running a business for several years now and, in all honesty, at times have also run myself into the ground a bit. I’ve talked before about how managing a photography business is a blessing that I know I will continue with for the rest of my life. It’s a calling and I adore it. But the stress that comes with running any business has also recently really brought home to me just how critical self-care is. Perhaps this why the words of Ms. Obama are resonating particularly strongly with me:

From a recent interview with Gayle King she says:

"I think for us as women, many of us, we have a hard time putting ourselves on our own priority list, let alone at the top of it. And that's what happens when it comes to our health as women. We are so busy giving and doing for others that we almost feel guilty to take that time out for ourselves."

My guess is that quote will probably resonate with most women who read it. Self-care is so important and I make an effort to tell all of my clients in the lead up to their photo shoot to make some time to take care of and pamper themselves (even if that means just stretching your body and drinking lots of water).

I think it’s also helpful to define what self-care is for you. Is it a nightly face mask? Is it reading a good book? Or perhaps it’s setting aside time in your day to go to the gym.

Whatever self-care looks like for you, embrace it. You are worth so much more than putting yourself last in your life.

PS- If you’d like some ideas for different types of self-care, click here.