An observation: 

If I’m super-tired at the end of a hard day and I decide to take a short nap, I feel guilty about it for the rest of the night.  So much “wasted” time! 

But if a friend announces on Facebook that she’s decided to take a short nap to try and recover from a hard day, I write a positive comment encouraging her to take care of herself…as  does just about everyone else. It’s “likes” all around. 

This observation illustrates how we tend to be much harder on ourselves than other people when it comes to productivity. What we deem laziness in ourselves we often deem healthy in other people. 

So lately, in order to be kinder to myself, I’ve tried to step back a bit and look at my life through a friend’s eyes. 

From a friend’s perspective, calling it quits at 9:30 p.m. seems like a perfectly good idea. 

From a friend’s perspective, stopping to actually enjoy my lunch strikes me as a healthier option than eating at my computer.

From a friend’s perspective, having a good cry after a tough day is understandable. 

From a friend’s perspective, taking that bubble bath isn’t such a waste of time after all. 

I wonder how much happier we would be if we were better friends to ourselves. 

***

Have you ever noticed that you are quicker to encourage others than yourself? When was the last time you did something kind to yourself?