Make ‘Me Time’ A Priority

Written By Julia Lette

It is commonplace to feel like taking time out for ourselves is selfish. We have been taught that we must work hard to deserve health and happiness and we put pressure on ourselves to be perfect, to be patient and nurturing parents, to be devoted and supportive partners, to be dependable and sociable family members and friends, to be hard-working employees. Amongst all this pressure we put on ourselves, it is difficult to just stop and do something for ourselves.

However, taking time for yourself will not only benefit your physical and mental health, but it will also benefit those around you. If you’re finding it hard to make ‘me time’ a priority, these six reasons will hopefully help to remind you why it is so important.  

1. Taking care of ourselves puts us in a better position to help and be of service to others. If we are exhausted and unhappy, we are generally not in the best position to support and care for others. Conversely, if we feel healthy, happy and energised, we are generally in a much better position to love, support and nurture others.
2. If you value looking after yourself, it suggests that you value and respect yourself. Those around you are likely to pick up on this, and value and respect you in return. However, if you are always doing things for others and never taking the time to prioritise taking care of yourself, people will pick up on this and treat you accordingly.
3. As caring individuals, we want the best for our loved ones. We want them to look after themselves, to respect themselves, and to place value on their own lives. By role modelling the importance of taking time out for ourselves, we are teaching them the importance of valuing, caring for, and loving themselves.
4. By prioritising ‘me time’, you will learn to enjoy your own company and this will ultimately help you get to know yourself better. This will allow you to be more ‘in tune’ with your body, more self-aware and more open to self-growth.
5. People who don’t prioritise ‘me time’ often feel exhausted, rushed, and run down. This leads the way for illness and an unproductive work and social life. When we make more time for ourselves, we start to feel more energised, healthy, patient, creative, inspired, clear-headed and productive.
6. When you make time to have quiet moments with yourself, it encourages you to stop and take time out from the chaos around us. We are often so busy that our poor minds don’t get time to process or digest what has been happening and how we have been feeling. This can make it difficult to turn off and fall asleep when it comes to bed time as our minds are still processing the days activities. Those who priorities ‘me time’ are thus better placed to fall asleep more easily as they’ve already taken the time to think and feel before heading to bed.

So if you struggle to make time for yourself, or if you feel guilty or selfish when you do, be sure to focus on these six reasons to remind yourself of why ‘me time’ is so important.