Take three seconds to think about this question and answer it honestly, “Do I spend enough time focusing on my wants, desires, and needs?”. Honestly, most of us probably don’t. Which is actually kind of sad, because we spend so much time thinking about others, that we don’t spend nearly as much time focusing on our own self-care needs. Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a considerate person, but being a “yes-wo-man” is going to wear you out real quick. There is no shame in telling someone “no” every once in awhile, and giving yourself a well needed ‘Me Day’.
‘Me Days’, for all of the yes-wo-men out there, are days where you literally only focus on yourself. That means you don’t take on any additional responsibilities, and you set aside anything that doesn’t need to be done ASAP. We all have responsibilities, so I know sometimes it’s hard to find a day where you can just put a pause on life, but scheduling time for yourself is SO important. This is your day to rewind, and focus on all things self-care related.
Self-care is a little bit different for everyone, but has the same underlying principles. Your ‘Me Day’ should be all about what you want to do. More importantly, though, it’s a day for you. Spending time with your significant other is always fun and can be a way for you to unwind, but the point of ‘Me Days’ is for you to be alone and focus on yourself. If being alone puts you in a bad state of mind, then spending your me days with another friend is always a good option for you. But idealistically, you should want to take the day to focus on loving yourself.
I know that myself, I have a hard time saying no to people, and I only recently have started to figure out how to implement a ‘Me Day’ into my crazy schedule. At first, I had no idea what to do with a whole day of free time, because I’m always so busy, I barely ever have time to sit for three seconds. But after some practice, I realized it’s all about finding the parts of yourself that you want to improve.
The key components of ourselves that we want to focus on our ‘Me Days’, are physical and mental health. Both of these play a huge part in how we view ourselves, and if our mindsets are positive and negative. It’s important to determine which one of these factors you really want to key in on your ‘Me Day’. Or, you could be an all-star, and focus in on both.
Physical Health: Our bodies are temples, not dirty closets that we keep ‘forgetting’ to clean. When you get busy, you put off taking care of the vessel that carries you, because your school work, job, friends, boyfriend, whatever it is, becomes more of a priority than yourself. Take your me day to really appreciate, thank, and pamper your body. Go to the gym or on the run that you know you’re body has been dying for. Take the extra long bath or shower, and use those bath bombs you keep getting as presents from friends and never have time for. Shave your legs, your armpits, everywhere you want to (or if you don’t that’s cool too!). Lather yourself in some lotion, curl up in bed with a face mask and binge watch your favorite Netflix show. Anything that will help replenish and nourish your body. Only you know what your body likes, so don’t let anyone else dictate personal care. Your day, your rules.
Mental Health: This is different for everyone. For some, it could be focusing on changing their mindset, from negative to positive, and others it could be dealing with deeper challenges. In this case, we’re going to focus on getting rid of negativity. Negativity is something that we’re surrounded by. This could affect our mental health, and cause us stress, and a state of sadness or anxiety. Not every person you meet is going to be a positive person. However, you do choose who you associate yourself with. Realizing when you are surrounded by negative people, is a first step in detaching from the negative components of your life. By detaching, you’re more or less getting rid of extra weight, which will help you become a more positive person. Take the day, and listen to some podcasts. They’re full of inspiration and really well thought out messages that could change your mindset, and help you to live a healthier life. Start doing an activity that makes you happy. For me, that’s photography and blogging. When I was at a low point, I really keyed in on those two things I loved doing. It really helped dig me out of a whole, and gave me a way to express some of what I was dealing with.
Regardless of what you choose to do for your ‘Me Day’, be sure that it focuses on something that’s going to help you relax and unwind. Most importantly, don’t EVER feel guilty for saying no, because you need some alone time. The people who don’t understand the importance of you taking a step back to breathe, are the same people desperately need a ‘Me Day’ themselves! The impact that ‘Me Days’ have on your mental health is vital for creating a sense of peace and tranquility. If you continuously push yourself in regards to other people’s standards and expectations, you’re going to run yourself down, to the point where it’s going to take you a while to build yourself back up. Make the decision to better yourself, for yourself.