A Year of Self-Care Quotes

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough. —AESOP”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.—WAYNE DYER”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Never give from the depths of your well, but from your overflow. —RUMI”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down. —ROY T. BENNETT”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“I accept that those I love cannot fulfill all of my needs. I am responsible for my needs. I relinquish my expectation that others must take care of me.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Starting today, let go of the shoulds for good. After you make your list, say, I accept me all of the time in all the ways. I am allowed to be in progress.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Although boundaries may feel like a series of noes, every time you say no to something, you are really saying a resounding yes to yourself and any opportunities that will better serve you both in the now and in the long run. A boundary is not a rule that you impose on someone else. It is a line that you draw for yourself.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Boundaries Saying no to others is saying yes to yourself. —JACK CANFIELD”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Embrace Yourself No matter how disciplined you are on your best days, it’s okay to acknowledge that you may not be that regimented all of the time. You are only human. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s an upward trajectory. You are on the journey. Give yourself grace.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them. —ZIG ZIGLAR AUGUST”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Focus this month on the beauty that is the practice of discipline. Self-discipline equals self-care.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“JULY
19 I am able to walk on my own unique path, looking neither beside me nor behind me, knowing that this path was made for me, and I am here on purpose.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.—RUMI This month is all about simplicity. When you are committed to simplifying your life, your priorities, desires, and deep needs rise to the surface. When life is cluttered with things and busyness, you become blind to your needs. The complex demands of the day-to-day grind overshadow the more important, simple needs of your life. Sometimes you may hold on to possessions, relationships, people, and ideas long after their expiration date. It’s okay—necessary even—to let the things, people, and feelings that you no longer need fall away. When you remove the old to make way for the new, you are simply acknowledging what is and what isn’t in your life. Simplifying gives you the necessary space to breathe in deeply. It feeds your soul and creativity, and it allows you to lead an empowered life.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“The jump is so frightening between where I am and where I want to be . . . because of all I may become, I will close my eyes and leap!—MARY ANNE RADMACHER”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“My needs are a beautiful, necessary expression of my humanity; they are important, and I will never silence them again.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Self-care is a daily exercise—one that is free, but priceless. It is a reckoning with your soul where you declare: I am worthy to be cared for.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“No is necessary magic. No draws a circle around you with chalk and says, “I have given enough.” —McKAYLA ROBBIN”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Today, refuse to do anything for anyone else that they can do for themselves. When you consistently take care of other people’s problems, you may feel that it is caring, but it is in fact enabling. When you enable someone, their growth is stunted, which prevents them from reaching their full potential.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Self-care isn’t about doing better for yourself, but rather doing less of what is damaging.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Productivity is not the same as progress. You can complete multiple tasks for others and yourself, but if the work is not progressing you forward toward your goals, then all the effort is a practice in futility.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Use these boundary setting statements as you move through your day: No. That doesn’t work for me. I can’t help you. I’m not okay with that. If you want to be in relationship with me, this needs to change. You are asking me to do something that I don’t feel comfortable with and I won’t do it. I don’t agree with you. Stop. This is as much as I’m willing to do. I’m not changing my mind on this.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Delaying gratification is caretaking your future self. A life of instant gratification is a recipe for misery.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. —E.E. CUMMINGS”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Yesterday no longer exists except in your memory. It may not have been that great, but judging yourself about your choices is a waste of your precious time and energy.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Invigorating Cold A cold shower might not sound like self-care at first, but it is! Cold showers awaken all your senses, which benefits your mind and body. The banya, an old Russian tradition, involves alternating between hot steam and ice-cold water. The jolt to your system is said to increase your immune response, reducing sickness in your body. Hop in a cold shower today. While the chilliness is activating your nervous system, tell yourself, I am alive and present and ready to face this day! Follow up with a comforting warm lotion and harness the energy to tackle what lies ahead.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. —PARKER PALMER Introduction Welcome to the first day of your year of self-care!”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“Consider changing your scent and see how it affects your mood for the better. Here are some common scents and their effects on your system: Lavender promotes relaxation and restful sleep, reduces heart rate, and soothes muscle pain. Bergamot lowers cortisol (a stress hormone) and decreases depression. Vanilla reduces restlessness and promotes stress relief and relaxation. Orange gives you a dose of energy, reduces anxiety, and has been shown to help with PTSD symptoms. Lemon reduces stress and tension and eases depression and anxiety.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself

“In the words of Arthur Ashe, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
― Dr. Zoe Shaw, A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself