Writing goals for this coming year has caused me to be unusually introspective. Taking time to concentrate on me is really rare. I have five small children, a husband who works a lot (definitely not complaining!!), a house to run, a business to run, and a homeschool to run. I am wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend.
Every single one of those things is wonderful and fulfilling and a huge blessing from God – but they can also be draining. They consume my time, energy, and thoughts.
Sitting down and reading the book Telling Your Time (still available and still highly recommended), forced me to think about what kind of person I want to be in all of those areas. It also made me realize that setting time aside to do things that help me to be the person I want to be in all of the areas I listed above is not selfish. It is smart.
It always felt selfish to me to take time for myself. Until I realized that taking time for myself refreshes my soul and fills my store-house – readying me to give abundantly again.
When my soul is refreshed, I am:
- a more creative and patient mom
- a more giving, forgiving and gentle wife
- a more organized, motivated housekeeper
- a more focused and productive business owner
- a more thoughtful friend
This is not new advice, I realize. But for me, it is a new perspective. I will carve out time for me this year. Not because I need it. But because my family does.
How about you? Do you normally make time to do the things that you love? What refreshes your soul?
Sharing this post with the ladies at Growing Home and Works For Me Wednesday today!
So very true!
Thanks for stopping by, Heidi :)!
I am so unbalanced in this area. I will not take time for myself because I feel guilty about focusing on myself. And then swing in the other direction and get angry for not having free time for myself. I agree with you when you said “taking time for myself refreshes my soul and fills my store-house – readying me to give abundantly again.” Thanks for the reminder. I started homeschool up again last week. The schedule went well except for not scheduling enough breaks or time for myself. I need to check out that book. Book right? Or is there a download too that you mentioned?
It is really challenging to find the balance, I agree. The book I recommend is a downloadable e-book – yay for instant gratification :)!! It only costs $2.99, and I seriously would have paid $30!!!! It helped me figure out where I want to go this year (and the years to come) and the REALLY important part – how to actually spend my days to reflect that.
Thanks Jenna. Okay, going to get it right now! 🙂
I try and try and try. I understand the importance of taking time for myself in order to be better in all the areas of my life. You are so right, and it is so difficult. There always seems to be something that needs to be done before I can get to me. I have been trying to work on that! Not only for me, but to be a good example for my daughter. One day she will have a busy grown-up life of her own and I want her to be able to take time for herself.
Very good point about allowing your daughter to see that, too. You are also right that something ALWAYS needs to be done that seems more improtant or more urgent than the time we set aside to refresh. But that is the nature of Mom-hood – always putting people before ourselves. The trick is to realize that it isn’t selfish, it actually allows us to serve them more effectively and with a full heart. That is what you want your daughter to see :)!!
Start small, choose a book you want to read or a craft project you want to start, something that recharges you. Then, set aside 15 or 30 minutes a couple nights a week, after your daughter is in bed, to indulge in something for you!
Are you a schedule person? I like to have a schedule on paper to keep me focused with how I spend my time. I don’t stress about not following it, though. I just know that at certain points in my day I get off track, so I glance at what I want to be doing (per the schedule I created) and say, “Oh, ya – I’ll do that now.” If I have time for me in my schedule, then I know there truly is time for it, and it is just a matter of choosing to let other things wait for a short while. And even then it isn’t easy.
Good luck!
[…] By Myself – I wrote an entire post on this here. I realized this year, that time by myself is how I recharge. And taking the time to recharge […]
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