Tick tock went the clock as minutes turned into hours. I had been working for what seemed like days on this project with no end in sight. Along with a number of other significant demands competing for my time, I felt as if I was getting pulled in so many different directions that I was at risk of coming unglued and getting nothing done. It was time to take care of myself.
Meanwhile at Fubar …
As more and more requests for her time multiplied, Wendywoman had a meltdown. Realizing she was falling to pieces, she reminded herself that a little self-kindness was the glue that could keep it all stuck together.
What can you do?
I boarded the plane and listened to the emergency briefing I had heard a thousand times before, only this time my ears perked up. As the flight attendant reminded us to put on our own oxygen mask before we helped anyone else in the event the cabin pressure dropped, I realized that this advice applied to more than just my time on the plane. The instructions were a metaphor for self-love or self-care. Let’s face it … if you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love anyone else? If you can’t take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of anyone else? So many times when we are on a plane we ignore the emergency briefing, believing that the drop in cabin pressure can never happen to us. The same applies in our day-to-day life. It is easy to ignore or put off self-love, believing we don’t have the time until we become exhausted, overwhelmed and finally go to pieces. However, only by coming unglued do we discover that we do not have the energy to help those who depend on us because we can’t even help ourselves.
Contrary to some philosophies, there is nothing selfish about loving yourself. People often ask me how I can afford 90 minutes a day to do hot yoga and meditate when I have so many other things going on. The truth is I would be mentally and physically bankrupt if I couldn’t afford to give myself that time daily. Sometimes that does mean weighing out when it is appropriate to say no to somebody else so I can say yes to myself.
A challenge to my blog readers…
While it is great to support and help others, you will be of no value to anyone if you do not take care of yourself. Lay out a simple routine that allows you to feed your mind, body and soul for at least a short period of time every day. This should be a ritual. Don’t worry about whether or not someone else thinks it is crazy. It’s your life. As a leader in your own life, it is up to you to determine what your priorities should be every day. For me, if I skipped my 90 minutes of WW time every day, I wouldn’t get nearly as much done the rest of the day because I didn’t take the time to take care of myself. Even if you start with only 5 or 10 minutes, try to work up to 30 minutes a day by the end of a one-month period. You have to start somewhere. Don’t wait for an emergency where you are scrambling for the oxygen; instead, just remind yourself to slow down and breath.
Send me an e-mail at wendywoman@wendywoman.com or catch me on Facebook (Wendywoman) to let me know how you are doing.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Wendy, one of my favorite things about your blogs is that you write about the experiences that we’re all going through… and then guide us through them with your words of wisdom!
Self-love self-shmlove! Don’t forget that I OWN you during all that “multiplying time” Wendywoman. Get that krazy glue, pull yourself together and get back to work!
I solved this problem a long time ago. Lots of people say “yes” too often, a definite drain on their time, but I NEVER say yes. No, no, no!
Wendywoman, with all this talk of flesh-eating zombies in the news lately, you might not want to leave your body parts lying out in the road like that. Although I wouldn’t mind if you called in zombie-eaten for a couple days…
When I need time for myself, I used to just hop into my time machine. But it seems that I have lost the key. I probably used it to make a windchime for my garden, but I’m just not sure!
REALLY great message!!!!! Now…you do know that even when broken into pieces we are still WHOLE!