Treat Yourself: It’s So Important for Well Being

I really wanted to call this post ‘Treat Yo Self’ just because I love the expression so much…!

But I’m FAR more grown up than that [the sound of her friends laughing aren’t helping her concentrate on what she’s meant to be writing] – so I stuck with treat yourself. And how it’s so important for your well being. I’m sure most of us are guilty of not doing enough to look after ourselves, aren’t we?

We spend so much time looking after others and making sure they’re okay that all too often we don’t make enough “Me Time”. And whether you can spare five minutes Me Time or an hour’s Me Time every day, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense that making yourself happy is the easiest, simplest way to make those you love happy.

I’m writing this after having just spent a day and a half at a luxurious spa hotel in Bath. YOU CANNOT BELIEVE HOW RELAXED I FEEL (to be honest, you probably can). Now believe me, this does NOT happen every day, or very often… never, in fact! It’s not the sort of place I could easily afford, but I was very lucky to have been invited there as part of a campaign I’m working on right now (see my Instagram and Stories for more). I enjoyed a heavenly full-body massage, a luxurious hotel room, incredible food – and much, much more.

Myself and the other girls were discussing how amazing the massages were, and I mentioned how I hadn’t had one in years. Not for any other reason than I’d just never booked one. It made me realise that it wasn’t due to cost; a full body massage where I live is around £40 – something I could easily afford now and then. No, I’d just become complacent about treating myself.

 

Treat yourself – why it’s important for your well being

Now I understand completely that people today lead INCREDIBLY busy lives. Parents especially are often the first to say that they put children first, that their children are the most important things in their lives – and that’s not just understandable, but a given. I’m not a mum but I am a doggie mum, and if I think about how much time and thought and attention is lavished onto the dog, I can only imagine how that’s multiplied for small humans.

But I think that it’s vital to our own well-being, health and sanity that we all take a little bit of Me Time every now and then. Because if we’re tired, run down and unhealthy because we put everyone else’s needs, wants and desires before our own, our well-being suffers. And if your well-being suffers, you’ll almost certainly feel so lousy in yourself that exercise or any sort of activities that involve movement of some description will be the first thing to go out the window.

And if your health suffers, you simply can’t take care of others. So it will be almost impossible to make others happy because you’re just not physically or mentally up to the job.

I read a wonderful quote somewhere ages that was something along the lines of:

“A father’s job is to keep the mother happy. Because a happy mother means happy children.”

Now of course that works both ways – it should be the job of every parent to keep the other parent happy (isn’t that the point of any relationship?). Grinding ourselves down and not taking time to relax even for five minutes a day is not a healthy way to live life.

I’m not saying that we should all book ourselves in for a monthly spa weekend (though OMG wouldn’t it be nice?!) – I’m talking about just the occasional treat, whatever you can afford or make time for. These things don’t have to cost much, or anything at all. A massage is affordable for me, so I’m going to see if I can make sure I have at least two a year. Or three! It doesn’t sound many, but seeing as the last time I had one was probably when the Spice Girls were in the charts, that’s a lot.

 

Here are 10 ways you can Treat Yo Self 😉 without spending much – or anything at all…

1. Spend five minutes a day doing absolutely nothing. Just breathe or meditate, sitting comfortably or lying down (just don’t fall asleep)!
2. If you like sleep, take a 20 minute power nap (no longer or you’ll feel sluggish).
3. Read that book you’ve been meaning to read forever. It’s amazing how much you can read in 15 minutes a day.
4. Treat yourself to a manicure or pedicure (they can be surprisingly cheap), or a massage. Or do a DIY mani/pedi.
5. Go for a walk by yourself. It’s a great opportunity for thinking.
6. Go online and buy that new nail polish/makeup palette/unicorn pencil case you’ve had your eye on for ages.
7. Watch a (trashy?) movie that only you want to watch and not feel guilty about it.
8. Similarly, put on your Dirty Dancing soundtrack (or album/playlist of your choice, anything that your partner/children/parents hate) and dance round the living room.
9. Buy a new-style hipster colouring book and pens and sit and colour for 5 minutes a day. I can recommend the Ryan Gosling colouring book.
10. Run a hot bath, light some candles, play some chill out music and enjoy a long soak.

 

And of course, if you CAN afford that weekend spa break at a 5 star hotel (put the money aside instead of buying that latte from Starbucks every day?), then go for it. You deserve it.

DO YOU TAKE TIME TO TREAT YOURSELF EVERY NOW AND THEN? TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS!

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