Boulder Counselor and Therapist | David Robbins, MA, LPC

A distilled message from Buddhism that is also shared by psychotherapy is that one must put your self before others. In our culture, we are spread so thin and are moving so fast, this message may seem decadent, impossible, or just plain selfish. I am writing to give you permission to give yourself something every day. I don’t mean a big mac, or a new purchase, but something that feels like love. I am suggesting time – time for exercise, time for meditation, time for therapy, time for a hot bath, time for a massage, time to prepare yourself a meal, or to write in your journal, perhaps even time to just take some deep breaths. This something that puts you back inside yourself ~ that grounds you in a state of well being, makes you feel real. The greatest gift you can give to yourself is just being with yourself, even if it is only for 5 or 10 minutes. So take some time out and put yourself first. Even a small investment in this way will pay itself forward to all of the people in your life who will profit from your increased sense of well being, in the way you interact, your attitude, your attention, and your compassion. It is impossible to have these qualities in relationship to others if we don’t first demonstrate them towards our selves.

Try it out, set aside 10 minutes a day of me time. I practice this by doing a sitting meditation every morning, no matter what is in store for me that particular day, even if it means getting up earlier or going to bed later. For me there is no compromise here, and every day is reflected in a more sane and less distorted way by this routine commitment.