Rules of Life: Make Time for Yourself

Here we have my 4^th Rule of Life. If you have missed the previous posts, check them out here:

1. Rules of Life: Be True to Your Word

2. Rules of Life: Do Something For Somebody Every Day For Which You Do Not Get Paid

3. Rules of Life: Beginning with the End in Mind

In order for you to keep your sanity, you must learn to make time for yourself.

We live in a busy world with people and events taking up most our time and energy. There are so many demands on us but you’re happy to just go along trying to do it all.

Often this is at the cost of our own health and happiness. With such busy and complicated lives we’re often too tired to do anything for ourselves. When you get to this stage you often don’t know what you want in life, and seem to just float aimlessly day by day.

We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.  ~Jane Austen

There is no denying life can be tough at times. We’re all in this huge struggle to find a way to be comfortable and happy. You end up either looking for the path of least resistance or the path of greatest reward. But either way you forget to look after what’s most important … you!

I meet so many people whose lives are in turmoil. They haven’t any idea where they’re heading in life. They go through day by day, keeping themselves busy, but focusing on nothing but the here and now. More often than not they’re stressed to high heaven, and they’re operating on empty batteries. You know the type, they’re often asking themselves, ‘is there nothing more in life than this?’

I ask them one question,  ‘When was the last time you actually took time out and had a day to yourself?’ The greatest  gifts we can give ourselves is time to yourself.

By taking time out you are giving yourself time to contemplate, to think things through. It provides you with an opportunity to try and get your life back on track, figuring out where you are, and where you want to be. It will give you the chance to look at what’s happening in your life and try to draw some conclusions about what it is you truly want to be doing.

Everyone wants happiness, wants security, wants love, wants success, and when we find that path, when we find that solution, then we’ll know what to do to make the world a better place for ourselves and those we love. But more often than not, we don’t give ourselves the time to find this path. How ridiculous is that. We so caught up in life that we just don’t give ourselves the time to find what we want, and to work out how to get there.

At this very moment, you may be saying to yourself that you have any number of admirable qualities.  You are a loyal friend, a caring person, someone who is smart, dependable, fun to be around.  That’s wonderful, and I’m happy for you, but let me ask you this:  are you being any of those things to yourself?  ~Phillip C. McGraw

I admit it. I’m the type of person who loves alone time on occasion. Solitude brings me to a positive state and provides me time to engage with myself. Every time you meet somebody, the first words out your mouth are ‘Nice to see you, how are you? How are things going? What you up to?’ Well, it’s safe to say, if you’re not giving yourself ‘you’ time, you’re not asking these questions of yourself.

My strong suggestion to you, is make it a rule of your life, starting today, to nurture yourself with solitude. Block off some time each week where you won’t be interrupted. Then relax and enjoy the alone time essential to your health, inner peace, and happiness.

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.  ~Agnes Repplier

Anyone can achieve the life they are wanting to live, no matter how tough life is right now, but a prerequisite to this is give yourself some ‘you’ time. Creating solitude can refresh and lead us into finding the answers to our most important questions. The problem normally is, we never find the time to ask ourselves anything.

When you’re taking time out to be with just yourself  it’s much easier to do self-reflection and get more in control of your personal choices. You will find that solitude enables you to get in touch with your true personal intuition, helping you make decisions for yourself, and be confident that you know the path you wish to take in life.

Allocating time for yourself often comes down to just making the conscious decision to take some time out. Make this a planned weekly habit, perhaps at the same time every week, this guarantees you have at least some time just for you. Schedule that time on your calendar and actually make an appointment with yourself.

Taking time alone creates space to relax, clear out your mind, reduce stress and get in touch with your own feelings. By stepping away from all the normal hustle and bustle of life, you give yourself the opportunity to clear away all your confusion and sort out feelings. Once our head is clear, you can take the time to explore what you truly want because it enables you to bring your dreams and personal goals back to focus. You will find yourself reflecting on questions such as:

•What is really important in my life?

•What can I do to develop my relationships?

•What is one action I can take on my major goals immediately?

Take the time to come home to yourself every day.  ~Robin Casarjean

Sid Savara wrote a great article on how to Instantly Make Time For Yourself – And Get More Accomplished http://j.mp/instanttime, a definitely worth while read.

Realize that with each day that passes, it’s gone forever. Live your life with that in mind and make every moment count.

It takes time, silence, solitude and courage to explore oneself but the payoff is a greater self understanding, an inner peace and freedom. It also leads to better psychological and physical health. There’s no limit to the things you can do on your own and the various ways you can make solitude time be very beneficial for your own personal development. The important thing is making the time for this.

How do you make time for yourself? Or maybe you will put aside some me-time after reading this? Please share and leave a comment below

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