A couple of days ago, I was having the weirdest debate with one of my closest friends. She's married, a mom, and works a full-time gig. Her to-do list is endless.

She recently came into a nice chunk of change and so I asked her what she was going to do to pamper herself. As she responded with things like she made a doctor's appointment and bought some new shoes because her feet had been killing her, I was like "Umm, what does that have to do with pampering yourself?!"

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Something about my friend and mine's dynamic is we're both wordsmiths. So, as she expressed that those were examples of pampering and I pushed back, we both agreed that we should probably check the actual definition out. Because pampering is something that I've been super-intentional about in this season of my life, I knew what it meant. But as I read the definition out loud to her, it brought me to the conclusion that there's an epidemic of women who don't pamper themselves. Not by a long shot.

"Pamper: to treat or gratify with extreme or excessive indulgence, kindness, or care."

In fact, I'll take it a step further and say that what some women consider to be pampering – you know, waxing eyebrows, having mani/pedis, taking bubble baths, etc. – those things should probably be classified as "upkeep" more than anything else. The definition of pampering backs my conclusion up. Just think about it. When's the last time you did something for yourself that would count as being extreme or excessively indulgent?

A spa day. An expensive bottle of wine. A weekend at a local high-end hotel. A piece of jewelry to celebrate reaching a goal or commemorating a milestone. Doing something that has no rhyme or reason beyond the fact that you want to love on yourself in the best way possible?

If, like my friend, this concept is so foreign to you that all you can think about is how irresponsible pampering is, this article has your name all over it! There are a billion reasons why you should really rethink your stance. Five immediately come to mind:

To “Gut Check” Your Self-Esteem.

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The author-poet Aberjhani once said, "Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends." It's one of my favorite self-esteem quotes because it reminds me that if I don't treat myself as invaluable, it's going to be close to impossible to expect others to do it.

And here's the thing – if you're not big on pampering yourself, take out a pen and piece of paper and write down why. If you can't come up with a reason, you have no legitimate excuse. On the other hand, if you say something along the lines that pampering is frivolous or wasteful, let me put into perspective what's really going on. What you're telling yourself is someone as unique, special, and awesome as you doesn't think it's a wise investment to celebrate that fact.

If you really and truly believe that, what does that say about your self-esteem? (I'll wait.)

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How 4 Professional Millennial Women Navigate Career And Self-Care – Read More

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