What have you done for you lately?
It was one of the best tunes of the 80s for many women as Janet Jackson got us all asking our men… “what have you done for me lately…???”
Now in the age of understanding that its not what others do for us but what we do for our own well-being that matters most the question needs to be what have you done for you lately?
As women, mothers, sisters, aunties, grandmothers and workers we do a lot of stuff for a lot of people. We put people first and we put ourselves second and that’s the nature of our nurturing role most of the time but it is also important we focus on how we can nurture ourselves to avoid burn out or becoming the proverbial ‘doormat’.
There are no excuses for not making time for yourself. No matter how much you believe you have to do you can always commit some time – no matter how small – to doing something you love. Even if it is time spent in a bath away from the noise and hustle of daily life.
As you think about making time for yourself don’t always think it has to be hours or days. Two minutes a day spent breathing deeply while closing your eyes is at least something. It is a start and with our focus being on progress in 2012 a small start is better than no start at all.
I used to be guilty of an all or nothing attitude. I had to find the time to meditate for 30 minutes or exercise for 60 minutes or spend time alone for half a day and if I couldn’t I didn’t bother to do anything at all. It took me a long time to realise that 10 minutes of exercise was always better than no exercise and that 10 minutes built up daily would do more good longer term than no exercise at all.
I think this is one of the reasons I keep pushing this message of progress on a small scale because after 20 years of focusing on personal development when I look back I see that it is those small steps that have managed to help me get to where I am now.
Build your self confidence by focusing on doing more for you. If you find you don’t give yourself enough time and attention to do relaxing, fun things that you love to do then do more of them. They don’t all have to involve a cost. A 10 minute walk in the park is a great way to re-energise me after a long day sat at my computer and costs nothing.
What do you do for yourself? How do you nurture yourself and make sure you look after your well-being? Feel free to share by leaving a comment below.
About Diane Corriette
I write on this self development blog about building self confidence, and living a life of full self expression where you are free to be you. Being able to be confident is not so much about how you think but what you feel. To successfully build self confidence you must use your thoughts to create an image of who you want to be, and your emotions to help you feel this amazing new you and then visualise & focus on it until it becomes your reality.
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I know I don’t do enough for myself but I do try to get down to the local comedy club once a month when I can because I have a really good laugh with friends. Depends on finances and baby sitters whether I go or not !
Yesterday I sent my husband and kids out for something to eat so I could have a few hours to pamper myself. It was a wonderful evening!
You have me thinking what have I done for myself now. I need to find something to do
@Shannon – as long as you are doing something for yourself no matter how small it is something. Now maybe you can introduce something mid-month that you can do too
@Sally. Great idea! Always nice to have a peaceful evening and reward yourself some time off – especially as a mother.
@Eva. I hope you manage to do that because you are worth it