So, I have this thing where I give myself at least 15 minutes of “me time” per day.  I made this commitment quite a while ago and I must say, I think this practice has become a veritable source of boundless energy. Oh, if only those swanky coffee houses knew what they had missed out on as the next best thing…giving adults a time out.  I mean, think about it.  It was a technique we learned as children to de-stress and it worked.  And after a nice break, we were energized and ready to get some quality play time in!  Somewhere in the complexities of our brains, memories and experiences,  maybe we internalized a deep-seated need to be assigned quiet time like a recalcitrant preschooler? Or maybe not.

Either way, it is the opinion of the wonderfully cheerful and optimistic people here at Positivity Works! that “Me time” is an absolute must.  We all need time for ourselves to breathe, to grow, and to be motivated.   It is also important to use that time to remind yourself that you are number one on the priority list because the more a person values himself and his own self-care, the more others will value him.

For me, as the to-do lists got longer and the planners got messier and bigger, it would have been easy to get into a work, work, work mode and never escape!  Ahhh!!!  However, I think having this practice of “me time” is like preventative  health care and it often prevents me from going to that unhealthy place of not acknowledging my own need for self-care.

Many people exercise to lower their cholesterol and so on, but they forget about their mental health, which can be just as fragile, if not more fragile,  than their physical health.  In fact, many times, the things that are going on in your body can have a lot to do with how you’re feeling. For example, a person may be so mentally unhealthy that they are unable to take care of their physical health which can lead to severe medical problems.

So take care of YOU, positive thinkers.  To help you start your daily ritual of taking 15 minutes out of your day to enjoy something/someplace/some smell/some taste that makes you feel good in the moment, we have a positivity exercise and it is super simple and just one of the many things you can do in a day to do something for yourself.   In this instance…you would be giving yourself time to relax, breathe and think positively.  And you can do it just by visiting this post.

And it goes a little something like this…

1)    Click on the link below.  It will take you to a YouTube video that we think is pretty darn relaxing and fabulous (they wont let us embed it, so we have to travel on over to another site, but it’s worth it).   Press play and watch the video in full screen mode (aka takes over your whole screen).

2)  Close your eyes, inhale deep and clench your entire body taut with tension for approximately five seconds.  Exhale, releasing the tension from your head to your toes.  Do this at least twice during the video. Make sure your entire body is relaxed and as comfortable as it can be after the tension release.

3)  Play the video for a minimum of 15 minutes.  You can watch the images or choose to listen to the relaxing sounds, whichever is more relaxing for you.  Give yourself enough time to really enjoy a moment of peace.

4) Avoid negative thoughts and think about the good things that have happened that day.  Even the most minute.

5) Ignore the ads if your eyes are open.  They came with the video and we don’t know that youtuber, but we like the sound of his waves. =)

Enjoy!

Click Here to get your 15 minutes of relaxation on…