|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
When was the last time you had a me-night? No, seriously, when was the last time you intentionally spared time to indulge in a moreish bath with all the salts and herbs, or maybe your thing is an unhurried round of golf, when was the last time you did that?
For a lot of people, the honest answer is that they can’t remember, followed by something like:
“I’m just so busy I have no time for things like that!” Does that sound familiar?
Most of us spend time being somebody for someone else, a committed employee or attentive partner, a reliable parent or supportive mate. These roles are real and mostly rewarding, but they do require a version of ourselves that is constantly switched on, patient and responsive (even subconsciously) to other people’s needs.
It’s easy to forget the relationship you have with yourself and like any relationship it needs attention too.
Research in rest and psychological recovery has found spending time alone can reduce stress and help people connect with their sense of self. It helps us step out of our roles for a bit and gives our nervous systems the chance to settle.
The busier life becomes, the easier it is to drop yourself from the schedule entirely. So, maybe the issue isn’t whether we have the time, but whether we’ve made ourselves enough of a priority to take it.
Time alone isn’t selfish nor should it be seen as unnecessary or undeserved – it gives us space to show up as the person we want to be for others.
While scrolling on phones for hours might feel like downtime, it doesn’t count as quality alone time. What such quality time looks like is different for everyone – a bath, a solo walk, a round of golf or an hour tinkering in the shed, perhaps.
It isn’t so much about the activity chosen but the intent to make time for ourselves. We don’t need a whole weekend or an extensive self-care routine, sometimes just an evening, an hour or a moment is enough.
So, sometimes it’s not about ‘you,’ it really should be about ‘me’.
