Today's topic is a touchy one for me. I always seem to be on the go, always going from one required task to another. It never seems to really ever stop. I found myself in this position due to life's many demands of being an adult in this world. Because of these demands I've always found it hard if not impossible to break away even for a day to take care of myself. This is why I come to you today because taking time for yourself can have profound affects on your life.
When you are overworked, stressed out, and downright beaten by the day, every day, that means it's time to take a break. If you are unable to work at your full capacity, how can you imagine you are getting ahead? When you are at your best you are smarter, better, faster, stronger. These are all powerful qualities that allow us to STAY AHEAD. Letting everyday bog you down will not keep you moving forward it will do the opposite, it will move you back. The old saying 2 steps forward 3 steps back, that applies to this because in trying so hard to get ahead you are actually hurting yourself.
Now you need to find out how it is that in your hectic life you are going to take care of #1 and that's YOU! It's time to start now. If you are reading this, then it is possible you have already started since this blog is dedicated to helping people move forward which can in a sense be taking time for yourself but it will not help sore muscles, tired eyes, and an empty emotional tank. That my friend comes from your own personal doing. Sleep in an extra hour a few days this week, do some yoga in the morning. Drink lots of water before breakfast and running out the door. There are so many LITTLE things that can be done that will vastly help you achieve more in the day.
Take care of your body. Don't buy junk food and make a meal out of it. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables through out the day so that you aren't bogged down trying to digest empty calories that will reduce the conductivity of the electrical machine that is YOU! Get PLENTY of sleep, or at least enough that when you wake up you aren't begging to get back into bed, and if you are getting more than 8 hours and you feel exhausted every day, I would look at your diet first and foremost as the culprit, even if you work a heavy manual labor job. Get out and move your body! I can not express to you enough how much this will improve your life. You will get the juices flowing! You are a machine and just like a car you will get sludge in your engine. Amazingly however we can clean ourselves out with our own movements! Flush your lymphatic system with deep breathing and get your circulation flowing to parts of your body that don't get enough blood. Get up, stretch, run, lift, jump, cycle, FLY damnit!
DO A LITTLE EVERY DAY. I will never stop saying this. It is how I keep my life moving forward. When I have 5 minutes, I do pushups, I do pullups, I drink a quart of CLEAN water, I sit down and breath, I focus on my goals and imagine how I'll achieve them, I write a blog post! Even 5 minutes is something more than nothing. If you can afford more then take advantage of that! Don't sit around doing absolutely nothing. Even Buddhist monks are not doing NOTHING.
Again, do more for you. If you are already stressed from a life full of kids, a job, a gym membership trying to hold onto your sense of self, then taking care of yourself may actually even mean taking a day off from those things in order to indulge and feel some pleasure for once again! If you are doing things that are supposed to be improving your sense of life, but you are a tortured slave to it then it isn't working is it! You have to find what works for you and your current situation. Sometimes eating ice cream is the right choice. That doesn't mean every free moment you get that you should eat ice cream and that it is going to fix your problems, but it can be a treat to help you remember that life isn't all hard work. My girlfriend and I like to make some home made vegan ice cream a couple nights a week after a long hard day of work and sit down to watch something we can both enjoy so that we can decompress from everything.
You gotta do what is necessary for you. Listen to your body and listen to your mind. If it says I need something, and you know that it isn't going to cause more problems than it will solve, then you should listen to it. Do what you know in your heart to be true. Listen to your heart, it is smarter than your brain and it came first. It will not misguide you.
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