Why is it so Hard to Take Time for Yourself?

When you let people down . . . ..
Everyone's depending on you to come through. Your parents want you to be a success, your partner wants you to be the everything woman, your children need you to be supermom, your employer requires you to be a stellar performer, your business demands all that you have to give and your friends and extended family expect you to be available when they call.

What happens when you can't provide the right amount of loving, you can't listen to every conversation, you're not emotionally stable enough to comfort someone in need, you couldn't provide a solution, you didn't show up to the game on time or at all, you couldn't cook dinner, you didn't want to have sex.

Sometimes we have to stop and ask, What am I doing to myself, why am I taking on all of these demands and why? Do I feel less worthy if I'm not taking care of someone or something?

It's time to do YOU!

Living in this microwave, fast paced society can have you believing that we have everything is easy and we're saving time with all of the modern day technology. We are saving time but filling that time with other things to do. We don't say, oh I'm going to make a bag of instant rice, steamed vegetables in a bag and an already made chicken and with that 1 hour that I saved I'm going to take a salt bath. NO!!! We get busy doing something around the house, taking care of someone, hop on our smart phone, ipad or laptop, talk on the phone, etc. Totally unaware of the time we just saved and how we could have spent it on ourselves. For many of us, taking care of ourselves have become such a low priority that we must constantly remind ourselves that we are important and we need our time for restoration and rejuvenation. How far are you going to push yourself?

Here are 7 Tips that really work!

1. Get Selfish- Decide that you deserve me-time. It's okay to get a bit selfish with your time. Many of us have grown to believe that if we are not doing something for someone else then we are selfish people. If that's what you want to believe--fine. Give yourself permission to be selfish. When selfish means the difference between self-care and insanity or physical break down, I think we can afford to be a bit selfish. Decide now that you are deserve it and you are worthy of your own time.

2. Set Boundaries-Once you've decided that you deserve it--then actually take the time. Don't just tell yourself you're going to do it. Take baby steps, you can set aside 20 minutes per day. Trust me I have 4 children, I know it can be challenging but you teach them to be self-sufficient and how to take time out for what's important to them. They will model and respect you.

3. Forgive Yourself- Let yourself off the hook for not taking time out for yourself in the past. You were operating from an old belief system. You have made a new choice. Don't carry the old energy into a new commitment.

4. Identify what you're running from-If you find it really hard to take time out for yourself take time to explore why you are short changing yourself. Is there an issue you need to address, is there something great about you that you want to keep in hiding? If you had more time to spend on yourself what would that force you to face

5. Are you living out old requirements placed on you?- Who told you that you had to care for the world and ignore/deprive yourself? And why are you still listening to them? Who gave you your sense of worth and is it tied to caring for others? I want you to go there with yourself. It's your key to freedom!

6. Prioritize- There's no other way to say this but to just go on and say it! Get your priorities straight and put yourself on the top of that list.

7. Love yourself Radically- know that you deserve time, love and attention from yourself. Take on a new belief that you are loveable and you be loved even more when you treat yourself with love and kindness. Be for yourself what you'd want a loved one to be for you.