Taking time for yourself vs taking time to know yourself
Hi there!
There have been many trendy ‘self help’ topics over the years. And one that rarely bores me is the topic of self love and acceptance. But one thing I feel has been missing is the difference between taking time for yourself and actually taking the time to get to know yourself. Or even being aware that there's an actual benefit to getting to know yourself.
Taking time for yourself is doing things you enjoy. It can be movies, shopping, yoga, facials, walks, mani/pedi.
Getting to know yourself is different. This requires a quiet contemplation to talk with yourself about things you notice. This is about becoming aware of your preferences, comforts, discomforts and making new choices based on what you discover about yourself.
When you pay attention to your self talk, your body and your needs, you are now equipped to put yourself in better situations. If you’re tired, then rest. If you are hungry, eat. The more you know yourself, the more prepared you can be.
Personal example:
My sister always gets a chuckle at my preparedness. She says it’s funny how I just know what I’m going to need, and actually take the time to pre plan because of this. It’s so true! If I know we will be shopping for a long time, I will throw a snack in my purse, because if I don’t, we know ‘hangry Kristi’ will show up.
When I head to my girlfriends for a day drunk, I’ll bring a pair of socks and a sweater for later, since I know I don’t enjoy being cold, especially my feet.
If I see a busy week in my schedule, I know after 4 days, I need to schedule a total ‘Kristi night’ where I can recharge my batteries.
All of these learnings happened when I wasn’t prepared and I simply just learned from it.
So check in with yourself and reflect on things in your life. Who do you really enjoy being around? What type of workouts do you look forward to and enjoy doing? What music makes you want to take on the world? Do you say yes, when you really want to say no?
When you know yourself, you can easily maneuver and create life on your terms. The benefit is that you’ll have more joy. You’ll stop ‘should-ing’ yourself, and you’ll follow your own inner guidance when you are perfectly ready. You’ll be less concerned with what others want you to do, because you’ll know you’ve already had the conversation with yourself and decided what’s best.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”
- Aristotle
All my love,
Kristi 😘
