I wrote a book that is in part an explanation of a journey. The destination a new and, hopefully, improved life for you and those around you. I also wrote this book to explain how to reach your chosen destination, or at least improve your chances of doing so. This involves planning. What you might ask what has this got to do with Me-Time?
The answer is quite straight forward.
Would you set out on a journey to a specific place with a desire to arrive at a certain time without some though as to how you are going to get there? No, you would have a plan. Furthermore once you started the journey you would “check-in” along the way to make sure the plan and the journey were working out as you intended.
That’s what Me-Time is, it that time you set aside to ask some simple question! How am I doing? Am I there, have I reached my goal. How is the plan working?
Anyone who has travelled with a younger child will be all too familiar with, “are we there yet”? .
How do I feel?
If you want to be well you need to monitor a couple of different components of you. First ,and the most obvious perhaps, is how do I feel physically? We all know when we feel ill, have a fever, or hurt ourselves, that’s obvious even to the most oblivious of us. But how about more subtle changes. When I walked up these stairs yesterday I did not feel this short of breath, it seems just a little more difficult. Perhaps you feel a little weaker or you simply don’t seem to have the same energy for walking up the stairs. These minor day-to-day changes require you to pay attention on a regular basis. This exemplifiers the concept of being mindful, which is just another way of saying, being aware.
Besides physical feelings we also have changes in out mood and clarity of thought. Most of us have good days when we feel on top to the world, or at least better than yesterday. Most of us will have days when our mind seems to be sharper than other, less foggy and more awake. We need to be aware of these. Again paying attention, being aware.
This is not a passive process but rather an active one, which in the early stages of your journey need to be planned into your plan. This time that you set aside everyday to sit quietly and ask yourself how am I doing ? This is Me-Time. It is a time that you set aside daily to check in on yourself. How else are you going to know if the changes that you are making are actually working!
It’s the time that you set aside to learn about yourself and your body.
But there are other advantages of Me-Time. The more you make this space to sit quietly and listen to you -the more you might realise how much of life you are missing out on. As I have been heard to say, the less you will sleep walk through your life.
An as you get to know you better, you might be surprised at how much you like yourself. Take this opportunity to reflect on the positive things in your life. We all have some.
And if you don’t remember as a close friend of mine would say, “even if you have nothing else to give, you have your smile”.