Many of us are busy working, taking care of the kids, taking care of our hubby, taking care of friends, but wait you forgot someone? Do you know who you have forgotten? The one person who is the most important one…you!
Why is it so important to take time for oneself?
Plain and simple because you deserve it. Taking a break and resting makes you more resourceful. When you rest, you have more energy, you can concentrate better on the tasks that you are doing everyday. When you work many hours without taking a break and resting how do you feel? I know that personally I feel angry, stressed up and constantly tired, impatient and irritated. When we are in such a state we are unable to give our full attention to the people we love. What is more important to you? Does doing more make you happy? Do you prefer to do less and perform your tasks with more quality while taking care of the most important person in the world…you?
For some people this concept might be one which is difficult to grasp at this moment and I understand, you probably feel selfish, but don’t. This is different than being selfish, it is called self-care and self-nourishment. It is important to nourish your soul and your spirit first in order to take care of the other important people in your life, you owe it to yourself and to your family.
When your children will see that you rest, and feel that you are calm, you will notice that they will be calmer including other people around you. When you take care of yourself, other people start to respect you more, especially those who didn’t in the past. Why do you think that is the case? Because you have made the choice to respect yourself and therefore you send a positive energy to the Universe. Rest also enhances your communications with others.
Resting is also good for your health. Stress and lack of rest affect our health in a negative way. Health practitioners give us all kind of other reasons, but if you will notice closely, you will see that the people that get sick the most are those who are stressed and those who miss “me time”. I personally know a mother who always does something. She works and comes home and she is doing everything. Her husband is sick and her daughter too. She is carrying heavy objects, cooks, cleans and she never rests. Recently I met her again at a social gathering and sadly her health is deteriorating. She is the kind of person who wants to take care of everyone. She is a very warm and kind person, however, she pays the price for putting herself last.
On the other hand, resting helps you sleep better and relaxes all you muscles and releases the whole tension in your body which eventually will improve it. I personally noticed a big change when I started allowing myself to rest. I used to have asthma. I felt weak and tired daily. When I started to give myself the permission to rest I felt much better. I also learned how to listen to my body’s signals and its messages and be conscious of my own limits and boundaries.
This is all good, you might be saying, but how do I find the time to do it? My question is: what is more important? There are always solutions.
1) Use your creativity. When you really want something you always find an answer. Here is a suggestion for very busy people. One way is to leverage it throughout the day. Take 5 or 10 minutes every 2 hours or so. Spending at least one hour a day can help a lot. If you don’t have this possibility then spend at least 10 minutes a day. Resting is very important.
2) Make New Choices. How you are spending your time is a choice. Every day you spend time planning your day and what you need to do. If you choose to spend your day doing something for others it is a choice. If you choose to fill up all your day with activities it is a choice. If you spend your day sleeping it is also a choice. What is stopping you from taking time to rest?
3) Say no to what is not important. There are ways to say no gracefully. Decide what is important for you in your life and say yes to those. Whatever isn’t say no and feel good about it. I remember many times I was working with coaches and I remeber a particular coach in the beginning of my coaching practice. Her priority was her family and whenever there was something related to family she gracefully told me what was going on and said very nicely: ” I am sorry I have to postpone our appointment today because XYZ and I would love to give my full attention to you 100%. ” The way she communicated this message made me understand her situation and made me feel good that I matter. Communicating in a way that comes from a good intention will make the other person understand your situation and be compassionate. There is no reason to be afraid to say no.
Personally, I am a person who needs a lot of rest and I will take a whole day during the week or more to rest. I like to do more quality work rather than quantity, even if it will take me longer. I work so much better when I am relaxed. I feel renergized and my creativity flow runs more smoothly.
I strongly believe that rest is an important and vital part of self-care. It is a way to take time to introspect, reevaluate your situation, connect with your higher self, simply recharge. I personally noticed how more effective and productive we are at our work.
This week your assignment is to find time within your day to rest. If you have other ideas about it that you would like to share with other mothers, than leave me a comment in the box below and I will share it in one of my blogs. I love to hear form you.
Galit.