Hello and welcome to episode 196 of The Mindful Kind podcast.  I recently received an insightful email from the lovely Lauren, who was curious to know my thoughts on self-care versus making excuses.  In this episode, you'll discover three helpful ideas for engaging in self-care in meaningful and effective ways - without self-sabotage or using self-care as an excuse. Decide what self-care really means to you and use this to navigate your self-care practices Become more aware of all-or-nothing cognitive distortions (which you can learn more about on episode 182 of The Mindful Kind podcast called Cognitive Distortions) Remember that sometimes, self-care can actually be difficult. It can involve choosing to do something good for yourself (or your future self) even when you may not necessarily feel like it. You can learn more about this in my book, The Mindful Kind: https://www.rachaelkable.com/themindfulkindbook Thank you so much for listening and I hope you have a wonderful week, Mindful Kind.