Everywhere I look people are talking about prioritising themselves, their health, their happiness, their lives. In blogs, magazine articles, TikToks, Instagram, you name it, it’s everywhere.
It’s funny that this has to even be ‘a thing’. I mean, of course you should prioritise yourself, right? If you don’t, who will? One life, folks, make it the best one you can.
But it is ‘a thing’, and whilst I see that it really shouldn’t be, I also completely understand why it is.
Living in a world where productivity, busyness, work, status and more are often hyped up, looking after yourself is not only not celebrated and prized, it’s actively pushed out of the door by all of those other things you need to be doing and striving for.
As with many things, most of this one comes with a mindset shift.
Decide you are going to invest more in yourself. More time, more attention, more thought.
Let go of any guilt around doing so and then you need to knock down your excuses one by one. These are the barriers, you’re telling yourself you can’t do something before you’ve even tried to work it out. Time is the usual culprit. Then probably a sense of duty to certain people, jobs or tasks, followed by the fear of stepping out of the norm, the comfort zone.
As such, just as I’ve seen lots of content around this recently, I’ve seen lots of people saying they’d like to but they can’t or that this feels too overwhelming.
I get that. The overwhelm, the thought of the overhaul, the changes and how can there be more time in the day?
I think the best way to start is to take just three things to change, to start, to try.
Three things. Less than three, will you feel the benefit? More than three and it could feel too much all at once.
Take three. Just three.
We can all take three, I think. And these three things needn’t take up hours and hours every week. A few minutes here, half an hour there, it’ll soon add up.
Break it down into small chunks of time and shifting habits.
Start small, and see where that takes you. Pay attention to how you feel with this first three, let them be the experiment. Then when you start to feel the difference, taking on more becomes easier.
Three.
Read a little each week, go to bed earlier, take a walk in the fresh air every week, learn something new (and make this bite-sized to make it feel manageable), try one new recipe a week, build some LEGO, eat more fruit, plan movie nights, take up Pilates, make an effort to meet up with a friend each month, start a journal, complete a jigsaw, drink more water, say ‘no’ more, get a pet, book yourself something to look forward to every month, get your nails done, and the list goes on and on.
Whatever you choose, make it meaningful to you, enjoyable to you and something you feel would enrich your life. It shouldn’t be a chore or unattainable, or you won’t stick with it, and really, what’s the point? Make these three habits. Get them ingrained.
There are thousands of possibilities, you know those things that relax you and that make you smile. Those are the things to look for and prioritise. Don’t pick things because you think you should, because others are doing them, pick things that make you excited. You don’t have to explain yourself.
I feel like we can all do this, and moreover, I feel like we should all do this. I realise this is the kind of thing you’ll have seen elsewhere, it’s not new, but I’m over here writing about it because I really feel like it matters. I’d love for you to be able to do this.
Take three.
Not resolutions. Not a January thing.
An ongoing commitment to making yourself happier, that can start any time, but why not now? It’s in your hands.
What are you waiting for?