Actually, it’s more than okay to take time for yourself. You have to. Motivational speaker Lianne Smuts talks about the art of living a more meaningful life.
I recently created a visual journal page where I added the words, “Sometimes we just need to stop”. When a friend asked me why exactly I chose those words, I honestly had no specific thoughts other than the fact that they were inspired by a drawing of a woman with an outstretched hand that reminded me of a stop signal.
My friend’s question made me ponder the phrase which came to mind so spontaneously.
We live every day in a hurry
Does it really have to be all about life being busy – so very, very busy?! We fulfil many different roles: mom, wife, friend, daughter, aunt, grandmother, colleague, employee, employer, business owner, encourager, confidante … and so many more.
At night we fall down on our beds, either thinking of everything we did not get to do, or we pass out straight away – just to the hear the (@#$%ing) alarm clock go off a few hours (which feels like only minutes) later, and do it all over again.
Every day a rush, watching the clock, ticking the “to do” list, adding to the to do list, helping here, supporting there, trying to be everywhere and yet getting nowhere … nowhere near living a meaningful life, just being sucked up by the barrenness of a busy life!
And that is exactly why it’s okay to take time for yourself
Sometimes we need to “just stop”. Do a personal stock take. Ask ourselves whether we are fulfilling our personal calling while being so busy? Are we happy? Do we utilise and share our talents? Do we make time to fill our own ‘love cup’ so that we have enough to give to those who are in need of our care and support? Do we have any me time at all?
I recently heard a story about a woman who lost her husband to suicide while her four children were still very small. To get her kids through school and university she had three jobs and somehow managed to cope. Her answer to the question about her secret to surviving this tough time in her life was absolutely profound: “I had to look after myself first. If I wasn’t ok, my children were not ok.”
Because you really do need to be okay first
So maybe, we really do need to just stop. And then start looking after ourselves. Make time for ourselves, do something for ourselves … or at least reflect on how we can make our lives more meaningful.
This does not necessarily need lots of time or major changes, perhaps small adjustments, a few minutes saved, minor changes … challenge yourself to find a way to take time for yourself … at least every now and then.
“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make life.” – Unknown
Further reading …
“How To Fill Your Own Cup In A Hurricane Of Demands”
How do we even begin to start filling our own cups when we’re living inside a hurricane of demands and deadlines, duties and responsibilities, must-dos and have-to-right-nows, hurry there, rush here, push more, push harder, push all the time, don’t stop, if you fall everyone falls? But without first filling our own cups, eventually everything we think we have to offer becomes empty anyway.
If we don’t take a little time out to nurture ourselves, all we’ll ever be is a frazzled, hollowed-out, dried-up husk of ourselves. Because our lives can’t always be entirely about everyone and everything else.
It’s taken me a while, but I’ve come to realise that there has to be room for me in all this too. And this is what helps …
Read more in “How To Fill Your Own Cup In A Hurricane Of Demands”
