A yoga retreat. A fun work trip. Uninterrupted time watching Netflix. These things sound like bliss right now. With ongoing responsibilities and activities in your life, finding time for self-care and to nurture your own wellness can seem impossible. Thankfully though, it isn’t. Here’s how to prioritise time for yourself without feeling the guilt.
Thankfully, it isn’t.
With a little careful planning and mindful intentions, you can factor in some critical time for yourself. Looking after yourself allows you to nourish your relationships with others better and isn’t just a selfish decision: it’s common sense!
As responsibilities stack up and your life feels hectic, it is all too easy to prioritise others and activities over yourself. Especially, when you have a family: whether you have children or take care of elderly family members, we tend to feel guilty when we prioritize ourselves, our own fun because we think it's at the expense of not being present for someone else, right?
Let me ask you this though: being away even if for a little while, can give you a fresh perspective, allow you to rest, and come back refreshed to better serve your family, friends, and work.
Giving yourself permission can be hugely powerful to your wellbeing, in whatever form you need. Give yourself permission to take time off. Give yourself permission to say no. Give yourself permission to feel, to experience and to be. You are enough and you are powerful. Embrace that, and give yourself a little leeway from time to time… you’re only human, after all. We can’t do or have it all, all of the time!
The notion of self-care for many is a big one, but it needn’t be. Doing whatever you enjoy or whatever calms you is self-care; be that reading a book, sitting and taking ten minutes to breathe over a cup of coffee, going swimming, or sitting on the sofa and chatting on the phone to a friend. It doesn’t need to be attending a lengthy yoga retreat, seeking professional advice or heading to a spa – although of course if you have the time and appetite to do these things, go for it!
If you hit a breaking point and feel that you can no longer cope in a period of “I just CAN’T do this anymore!”, there’s no shame to be felt for this. If you need to, seek the help and advice of others. Take stock of where you are and what’s going on, and if you can, assess how you can influence either the situation as a whole or how you can deal with it and support yourself better. This can be written out in your Ponderlily journal and makes for a great exercise in accountability if shared with someone else. Circumstances change and recognising this will allow you to focus forward on more positive times ahead.
When you just can’t adult; don’t and choose to take a break. We even wrote a blog post about that here! Take some time for yourself to refocus, refresh and relax. Grant yourself permission to enhance your attitude and abilities moving forward!
By taking a little bit of time for yourself, you will be able to really enjoy the day and take care of everything with a better and more positive outlook!
