My commitment to myself for 2018 – I will NOT strive to be a superwoman.
It’s proven that women generally take less ‘me time’ than men. Why is that? Well I believe it’s because for some biologically wired crazy reason, we think that we should be able to do it all, kids, career, house, finances, partners and what does that mean? Leisure time gets swiftly put into the ‘luxury’ category.
When I hear the words ‘more me time’ I automatically think things like, taking a nap, getting a facial, reading a book, shopping for a new pair of shoes… my brain starts going…. ‘but there’s washing to be done, bake the kids some school snacks, sort out the sock draw’ and a feeling of laziness just overwhelms me. The catch 22 is that it’s so wrong that we have these negative thoughts around ‘me time’. But there’s no avoiding the truth, so many of us just do. And with three kids, a house to manage, a career and a new business start up (INSTANT PA) it seems that I’m finding less and less time to really make choices that free up my time.
Re-reading this back I can see how absolutely insane this sounds, but I would be lying if I told you that I think I’m the only person in this full on, time-poor boat. If I’m correct, this story is very common and will resonate with so many of you just trying to get through your day to day lives, doing the best you can with the resources you’ve been given.
I’m so blessed that the job I have created for myself includes wonderful experiences like facials, yoga and holidays but as much as I am grateful for these experiences I still want more me time to focus on my goals and continue on a path, MY path, to get where I want to go. Stress levels seem to be high for me at this time of year and putting all the above aside, I can’t help at times feeling over worked, underpaid and simply that it all just gets too much.
The old saying goes ‘you can’t give from an empty cup’ and it’s totally true. We need to put aside the feelings of selfishness and laziness and give ourselves permission to take the time to do what ever it is we feel we need to do to fill up our cups, if not only for ourselves then for our children.
How am I going to do that this year? Well first and foremost I’m going to give myself permission to make the choices I need to make to be more comfortable and less stressed on a day to day basis. Too often I’m having to choose between folding the washing, answering emails or chasing up an unpaid invoice.
For me, more ‘me’ time means putting systems and processes in place to give me the freedom to make choices for myself, what ever they may be.
What does more ‘me’ time mean for you??
I would love to hear from you.
R.É. xx
