This morning after I dropped my son off at preschool, I went running. Normally, I wouldn’t tell you that. Why? Because you might think I was lazy, or a bad mom, or self-centered, or shallow, or any of a million other things I have no control over.
But I just re-read the (only) poem I keep on my desk: A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson, and one of the lines jumped out at me:
“There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”
In our culture today, or at least in my culture—the one I grew up in and the one I lived and worked in most of my adult life—it seems that you are only valuable if you are too busy, exhausted, or amazingly productive.
I used to believe that’s what made me valuable, too. But now I know that I am at my best, and can offer the most to the world, when I am rested and well cared for.
And the only one who can really care for me is me.
I tell my clients all the time that the first step to a joyful life is to get the basics down: rest, food, hydration, and play. That looks different for each one of us but we all have (and need) our own version of each basic.
So why would I hesitate to tell you I follow my own advice?
Because of what you might think of me.
So here’s the reason I wrote it today: Maybe you’ll think it’s a good idea to go for a run (or some other fun thing you do only for yourself that doesn’t seem to benefit anyone else.)
Even though I’m still a little nervous about what you’re going to think about me (even though I know I have no control over it,) I want to tell you something: These days I try to take really good care of myself. I get plenty of sleep most nights, I cook and eat healthy food, and on my to-do list is a whole section devoted to “Exercise/Me.” Yesterday evening I got a pedicure. Today I went for a run in the park.
I deserve to do whatever feeds my soul and to be my authentic self, and so do you.
We all do.
What do you need to do or be to feel good today?