|
|
|
Stop Wasting Your Leftovers! By speaker and author, Colette Carlson, MA  As busy individuals, we tend to keep a mental list of things to do, which at the end of the day does not extend to loving ourselves enough to grant us that bit of leftover time. Why don’t we bestow upon ourselves the same honor that we did a cold slab of meat? On some level we feel that we’re not due the time for ourselves, that we should be taking the time to keep the house tidy or getting ahead on tomorrow’s assignments. This attitude of putting ourselves last is a mental block and one that needs to be eliminated for 2009. We need to embrace the need for ‘me’ time because it creates moments of balance in our lives, which, in turn, makes us happier individuals. Plus, it stops us from reaching for more food or 'adult beverages' to quell our stress and exhaustion. Yea, yea, you’ve heard it all before but make this year the year you stop paying lip service to your life. Put yourself on the list and start putting action behind your thoughts. For instance, even though you’re 'crazy-busy,' when was the last time you chose to sit down and enjoy a good book? How about a nice, hot, relaxing bath or a read through of your favorite magazines that have been piling up for months? Does it seem the only time you grant yourself the time to do these things is if you’re on vacation somewhere? You’ve delegated your ‘me’ time for your yearly vacation! For some reason, you’ve put up a stumbling block that says doing any of the above items when you’re not on vacation is a guilty pleasure. The key word there is ‘guilty’. The reality is, if you took the time to do any of these things you’d feel guilty that you weren’t playing with your children or doing a chore around the house. That’s what prevents us from taking ‘me’ time. Guilt in this instance is a useless emotion. Don’t beat yourself up because you’ve earned downtime. My personal assistant, Denise Railey, likes to think of it as “The 4Ts for Me Attitude”. What are the 4 Ts? “Taking The Time To. . .” Denise discovered when her children were quite young that working full-time as well as being a mother and a wife left her with little time for herself. She’d get irritable and almost resent her responsibilities around the house because there was none of the guilty pleasures that came along with it. There was no balance in her life. The scales were tipped in favor of all the odds and ends that needed to be done but no time to continue to create herself as a distinctive individual, separate from being a mother, a wife and an employee. One day, after returning from a vacation, Denise decided that the photos from the trip were so pretty that she’d like to see them enlarged. Being a creative person, she chose not to have the photos themselves blown up but to put her own unique self into the project. She taught herself how to paint with watercolors and oils. Her husband and children were impressed and enjoyed the fact that she had found a hobby that gave her so much pleasure. She’d created something within herself as well as on canvas. She’d Taking The Time To Paint. She’d created balance. She no longer waits for ‘leftover’ time – she creates it. She seizes it. However, one day one of her friends asked her if she felt guilty for not playing with her sons or tidying the house instead of painting. Denise replied that regrets were a waste of time and that painting gave her an opportunity to slip away into a beautiful place, like a mini-vacation. That time away soothes the spirit and the mind, which then helped her approach her time back with her family with more joy. She Took The Time To Balance her life and not wait for leftovers. Don’t wait for your own leftovers and don’t waste them! If you were raised by Depression-era parents, you might feel guilty whenever you discard uneaten leftovers out of the refrigerator. Yet we’re guilty every day of frittering away our ‘leftover’ time. We don’t seize it and honor ourselves by creating this connection to self and balance within. It’s squandered and prevents us from becoming all that we can as individuals. Until we love ourselves enough to grant “The 4 Ts for Me Attitude,” we’ll not achieve real balance. So transform your leftovers into opportunity and see what you can create when you Taking The Time To. . . No leftovers you say? Then be sure to create a special meal just for you. Articles may be reproduced with permission from Colette Carlson Communications. |
 
       
|
