Working with myself, for myself, has felt like the closest thing to self-care in a while.
I started making something for myself. It’s been a challenge to keep the focus on what I need out of the thing I’m making. To be both creator and audience is a unique place to be, but a special one. It feels like the ultimate form of self-care.
It is probably the first time I can remember trying to treat myself like most of the other clients I’ve had in the past: prioritizing completion of my client work (for myself this time!) above all other concerns. It is a unique situation because it isn’t entirely for pleasure either.
What I’m gaining is a lot of insight into the voices in my head. The client-designer relationship is actually a lot like the inner dialogue I face most of the time anyway. One voices the need for speed. The other one voices the best practices… the ideas that we would pursue if we had unlimited resources. It’s been a little bit of a trip, but in a lovely kind of way… a Sunday stroll in a beautiful garden kind of way. I’m excited to see what comes of this new way of considering my own inner dialogue and relationship between my inner client and my inner designer.