Being your best starts with taking care of you. However, in the midst of busy schedules, it can sometimes take a backseat.
Yes, we ALL are overly busy. Whether you are a parent of young children, business owner, or a retiree (indeed our retired clients often say that they are busier in retirement than they’ve ever been), life moves at a fast pace. Sometimes that’s faster than you might like and at other times it’s at dangerously breakneck speeds.
We all hear phrases thrown around like “life moves pretty fast“ or “it all goes by in a blink of an eye,” or “time waits for no man” or as one of our clients recently said, “the world spins like crazy.” We vow it won’t be that way for us because we will live our lives differently from the rat race. Yet we can’t seem to learn the tools to change our behaviors as…well….we have no time!
The good news is that we have more time than we think. Believing we have a lack of time is just a state of mind and not necessarily a reality. Yes, time in life is finite and not even a clockmaker can “make time.” However, we can control what we do with our time and that’s the difference-maker.
Think about all the things you often say you wish you could do if you had more time:
- Maybe there’s some bucket list items you wanted to cross off….
- Maybe you have vacation time that you’ve been stockpiling
- Maybe you want a 10-minute breather to focus on your creative spark…
- Maybe you need some time to focus on some self-care with some mindfulness, physical exercise, medical and dental checkups…
- Maybe there’s a to-do list of house projects or personal or family goals you’ve neglected…
- Maybe you just want to get more sleep or spend some quality time with family and friends….
Instead of trying to add time to get these things done and getting frustrated when you can’t seem to figure it out, try reprioritizing what you do in the time that is available.
In doing so, make yourself more of a priority. That will lead you to be happier, more productive, more enjoyable to be around, and more helpful for those who are important in your life.
No, I’m not asking you to be selfish. Here’s why….
Think about the safety instructions you get whenever you fly. The flight attendants all show us how to put on our oxygen masks on first before helping other people get theirs on. The reason is simple: if you pass out from lack of oxygen then you can’t help anyone. So why risk it?
The same instructions apply to your life: make sure you take care of yourself so you can be available to take care of others.
So you see, I’m not promoting egotism. Self-care is not inherently selfish. Quite the opposite, actually. Practicing good self-care allows you to give more to others. It’s only selfish if you put yourself first and never offer to help another.
So start by doing something for yourself today, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Then grow from there. Let us know how it goes, we’d love to hear about it.
