Do you find yourself saying “YES “ too often and yet wanting to say “NO”? Especially when you feel people are taking advantage of you?
I’ve been there myself in the past and it took a while to get my head around learning to say “NO”. But I promise that you can get there by refusing small requests and then building upon it!
This is a mind shift! But when you say “NO” to others you’re actually saying “YES” to yourself!
Think of the oxygen mask protocol on a plane. In order to help others, you have to help yourself first. So it goes with your wellness.
We live in a fast-paced world with the demands of life coming at us from all angles. If only there were more hours in the day, right? Well, the fact is that there’ll never be! So we’ve got to make space for wellness with the time we’ve got. And here are some tips on how you can do it.
5 Self-Nurturing Tips to Help You Create S-P-A-C-E for Wellness!
1. ME Time
Set aside 25 minutes a day as ME Time. This time is your time and nobody else’s.
The only person you’re in communication with is yourself, be it a walk in the park, sitting by the sea, stillness, meditation, breathing, mindfulness….whatever helps you relax.
Check out HEADSPACE Bite-sized meditations for busy schedules. It’s a great app on the market that helps you carve out some time for YOU!
Put this time in your diary or time planner for a week and you will reach a point where you make it a self-care priority in your life. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel having given yourself the gift of ME Time.
2. Start Your Day Well
How you start your day will stay with you.
Did you know that upon waking each morning our cortisol levels are at their highest for at least two hours. So it’s best to avoid any form of social media or checking in on emails, within the first hour as it can create a reactive response that may not be beneficial to those around you!
I’m an avid fan of Jim Kwick who says “We are in an era of Digital speed, Digital overload, Digital Dementia and Digital depression” so it’s important to have balance and stop outsourcing your brain to your devices first thing in the morning!
3. Wellness Meetups with Friends
Once a quarter I meet up with my girlfriends and we have a day out doing some form of self-care, be it lunch, visiting a beautician, meeting for dinner and a few drinks! Walking through the forests, a day in Glendalough, it’s all about catching up and spending quality downtime together – I love it and look forward to it. We always leave with a date in our diary for the next get together!
So check in with your friends and make a date, you’ll be glad you did and will not look back just forward with excitement on your next venture!
4. Birthday Treats
When I met my husband, he could not believe that I worked on my birthday! I remember him saying to me “Your only born once! It’s a celebration of joy and happiness!” You should take off EVERY BIRTHDAY and celebrate this special day. I have for the last 25 years and it’s an amazing feeling to just do whatever I want to do each year.
5. Practice Gratitude
We are hardwired for ingratitude. It’s important to embrace gratitude and simplicity. A great walking and inner talking exercise to use while your out and about or even standing in a queue, or waiting at traffic lights, is to silently start each sentence with:
“I am grateful for”
I use this when I’m out shopping for groceries. By the time I’m done, I’ve gifted myself over 20 rounds of gratitude and arrive home calm and relaxed to my family.
Remember you can’t pour from an empty cup!
If you’re not well yourself it will be harder to help others. So think about saying NO to others and YES to yourself more often. Self-care is not selfish! Start with the simple tips I’ve shared above and reap the rewards of personal wellbeing.
About the author : Aine Ryan
