Take time for yourself; schedule a ‘lazy day’
Submitted by Daingerfield1 on
Pamela Lincoln, Cass County Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences
Are you one of the many Cass County residents who can never seem to find time for themselves? You have a job, a family, other responsibilities and no time to relax. Later, maybe, but not now.
Too many people feel they are not entitled to self-gratification, even though recent studies tell us about the close association between physical illness and mental stress and fatigue.
Finding time for oneself is self-gratification, but not selfishness. When a person takes time out for himself – to do for himself, to take care of himself – he reflects a good self-image. It has been said, “you’ll pay at the doctor’s office what you don’t pay for a vacation.”
All adults and children alike need enough time for themselves to relax, unwind and to escape responsibility. Private time is absolutely essential to good mental well-being – no matter how many responsibilities you may have.
Shared household tasks among all family members, equally distributing the menial and difficult tasks of home, job, and family, finding a rewarding outlet outside work and home that is stimulating or learning a new skill will challenge you to “make” time rather than to “take” time from responsibilities. Overcoming guilt of “doing nothing” may be the first barrier to hurdle, as well as probably the most difficult. Why not dedicate one day each year to be a “lazy” day. I’m planning mine now.
It’s wonderful to be lazy – if you know how. It spares your heart, saves your energy, relaxes your mind – and you needn’t feel at all guilty about it if you confine your laziness to these approved ways, recommended by a psychologist:
Be too lazy to frown, fidget, and worry.
Don’t wear yourself out carrying the needless weights of grudges, prejudices, and envy.
Listen more than you talk, and see how much better you feel after almost any meeting or gathering.
Don’t rush for a bargain that takes more out of you than it saves for your pocketbook.
Don’t knock yourself out trying to park your car in a space too small for a scooter.
Don’t bother to quarrel over small things, like a game.
Let the other fellow think he’s right when it really doesn’t matter. Conserve your mental muscles for things that count, and never bother to wrestle with the inevitable, the imponderable, or the insignificant.
There you have it – a lazy day.
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