Posted by Ruth Davis on Nov 11, 2015 in awareness, personal growth, relieving stress, self-care, selfish | 2 comments

All around me people are rushing and hurrying, taking care of people and things and the heavy worlds on their shoulders.

And they are tired and cranky and wondering why all of this giving and doing doesn’t feel very good.

Maybe because they are tired. Sore. Overwhelmed.

Maybe because they are forgetting to take care of themselves….

When did the word “selfish” get such a bad rap? When did it become a negative thing to take care of our own needs?

Isn’t taking care of ourselves crucial to our well-being? Isn’t self-care the way we stay healthy and able to give and care for others?

What if we embraced the idea that it’s OK to put our own needs first sometimes?

Imagine how rejuvenated and recharged you might feel…….

So many of my clients tell me that their biggest challenge is finding time for themselves. Not just finding time, but JUSTIFYING the NEED for time for themselves.

They tell me that it is so easy to do for others, to take care of everyone else, but that, when it comes to claiming any space for their own interests or needs, they feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and undeserved-ness and inability to make it happen.
Scheduling time for yourself is as important as scheduling everything else you have to do.

Self-Care is as important as doing the laundry, going to work, walking the dog.

When we take care of ourselves, we are more willing and able to give and care for others.

And yet it is so easy to get so busy with all other things and other people’s needs that we neglect our own.

I attend a weekly yoga class. For 90 minutes each week I give myself the opportunity to gather with like-minded people, practice breathing and stretching, and tune out the noise of everything else in my life and turn inward.

For several weeks during the summer I was so busy with work things that I took my yoga classes off of my calendar. It is no surprise that I was suddenly cranky, stiff and feeling overwhelmed with everything. The week I went back to class, I immediately felt balance and calm and clarity again.

Scheduling activities in our calendar is the key to getting things done. When we create the space and time for things that are important to us, we can actually do them.

So how do you take care of yourself? Do you even give yourself permission to?

Here’s a powerful Worksheet from the Living Room Ladies that can help you re-define what being selfish means to and give you a new way to create some much-deserved ME time in your daily life.

Being.Selfish.Worksheet

DID YOU KNOW??

In addition to writing this blog, I also lead workshops, retreats, and small coaching circles for women over 50 who are in transition–in their relationships, jobs, living situations, roles in life, or just in an in-between place in life.