Heal Thy Self
The Importance of “ME” Time
So often, as humans, we believe we need to push ourselves beyond what we can handle. It’s easy to feel the need to fill up your schedule because your available time is viewed as “free” time instead of “me” time. When do you get to take the time to cut out time for yourself when there’s so much being asked of you or that you want to do? When you have the opportunity to join in something fun, why would you say no? It’s okay to be selfish and say no when people ask you to do something, no matter how much you may want to do it. It’s often looked down upon to get in touch with your sensitive side in our society, but it’s needed. The negative stigma of being “overly emotional” and “selfish” needs to end. When you give yourself away SO much, you start to lose your individuality.
Making “You” a vital priority
Making yourself the top priority is hard when you have a seemingly endless to-do list of family, work, and school obligations. Taking care of ourselves is a crucial part of living a full life. When you treat yourself well, it will trickle down to everything else in life—your partner, children, classmates, coworkers, etc. Whether it is going to a park to read a book for a half-hour, treating yourself to a pedicure, or trying that new yoga class, you must make time for yourself. It’s essential to take even an hour every day to be alone and focus on yourself. You stop taking steps to take care of yourself because you no longer think about what you need to do to be the best YOU!
“You” Determine your own happiness
What you want becomes what is just next on your agenda. You start to lose interest in the things you used to love because you can’t enjoy them anymore as you are continually moving to the next activity. College already expects so much of you, but when you pile on social life and a side job, you lose the time to do what you want to do because you conform to what is on your agenda. We often feel so guilty when we need to separate ourselves from the rest of the world to take a step back and focus on our lives. But if we can’t be 100% healthy or at least striving to be, healthy relationships and positive thinking are nearly impossible to obtain.