By Scott Rutherford
ou’re driven. You’re focused. You’re busy. You wouldn’t be where you are today if you weren’t. Unfortunately, whether we’re in the corporate world or in business for ourselves, the rat race doesn’t slow down. If we’re not careful, the more we achieve, the busier we become and the more we can become consumed with maintaining that success.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but taking regular time for yourself, shutting out professional and even family commitments, holds benefits for you and those around you in all facets of life. If you don’t make time for yourself, you won’t be the best you can be during the larger chunks of your day, whether at work or at home. That may sound cliché, but the science behind it is sound.
Anne Shoemaker, an executive coach and career strategist, points out that overworking ourselves without taking time to recharge can cause our brains to “shift to the use of your amygdala, which is the emotional part of the brain.”
“Your amygdala exists to initiate your fight-or-flight reaction when you are in danger,” she said. “Under normal circumstances, there is no need for a fight-or-flight type of response, but that is exactly what your brain will give you if it is over-extended due to a lack of me time.”
Taking time for yourself doesn’t necessarily look the same for everyone; it can include anything that helps you relax and disconnect. Going for a walk, reading for pleasure, praying, or even taking a few minutes to close your eyes and just breathe all count as self-care.
Deep down, most of us realize that intentional downtime is important, even if we’re among those who feel guilty for taking it. Too often, we aren’t intentional about it, though. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we’ll have more time for ourselves after we’ve checked all the other to-do items off our list. But that doesn’t generally work because there’s always another hill to climb, another task to do, another goal to chase.
As Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor John Rampton points out, “You need to make [me time] a priority and schedule it just like you would any other important appointment, even if it’s just five minutes of solitude.”