Make Time For Yourself

Another thing I've come to realize is that it is really important to make time for yourself. I had always been the type of person who would make time for others when they needed me, but I wouldn't make time for myself. What I've learned is, while it's important to be there for other people, it's more important to be there for yourself.

Being there for yourself involves allowing yourself time to do things that are important to you that you enjoy. For me, those things are going to the gym, playing viola, and writing.

Yes, that's right-- I actually like going to the gym. It makes me feel strong. And then I actually BECOME strong and more fit from going. While this is a good enough reason in itself to make time to go, I also go because I made a promise to myself last Spring. I thought about all the injuries I had had over the past year and a half-- a sprained hip adductor, a sprained wrist, and tendonitis in both knees-- and I made a decision. I told myself that I would recover from all these injuries, and then continue going to the gym, continuing being strong, so that I wouldn't become injured ever again as a result of not staying in good condition. Because that's really what it comes down to. Those injuries happened because I was overtraining after a period of not going to the gym. Ditto for playing the viola. My wrist was sprained because I was overtraining after a period of not practicing all that much. Therefore, I made the decision to stay in good condition for the gym and for the viola to avoid injury.

So far, it's working well. Since I've joined the symphony here, I've been doing a lot more playing than I had been. It seems to be going alright though, I just need to get back in the swing of things.

Then there's the writing. I'd always enjoyed writing, and I used to be really into creative writing growing up. I wrote countless poems and short stories, in addition to some attempts at novels (NaNoWriMo, anyone?). After I became more interested in science, it became harder and harder for me to write fiction. Probably it also has to do with my newfound obsession with the truth. No ending I can write can satisfy that urge to understand the truth of what actually happened. As a result of this, I didn't write for some time. Last year I began my first blog, "An Enlightening and Absurd Account of What NOT to Do to Your Girlfriend/Lover" (http://vshipley.blogspot.com/), and it was a hit. Not only that, but it really helped me get over a lot of those horrible guy situations I had encountered. Thus, I started blogging again in the hope that it would be just as therapeutic in my breakup with Ray. It definitely has been. Also, writing helps me to organize my thoughts, which is an additional plus.

However, making time for yourself isn't just about hobbies. It's also about making time to unwind throughout the day so that you don't get overworked or overstressed. Some things I do for this are to go online and check my emails, Facebook, etc. Connecting with people is always great. Reading a book for fun and watching a show every now and then is also great. Also, the occasional bubble bath or foot spa does wonders.

I've found that by doing all this, I'm a much happier person. Hopefully you can make yourself happier, too.