Why making time for yourself matters

Tonight was one of the rare weekend nights the way I like them. I actually didn't see where I was going when I started my little revolution but after few minutes I got the point of me doing what I was doing... let me explain.
Usually on Sunday night you are somewhere between frustration (because you are not done with whatever you had to do), anger (because the weekend went so fast and you did not even have time to enjoy it or some kind of crazy thing -in the conventional way- happened and made you snap) and  anxiety (because you try to enjoy some quality time with your family or friends or whatever but the only thing you keep thinking about is :" oh man... tomorrow is Monday... snaap")

Any other Sunday would have looked a bit like that but not this Sunday. I was home with my sibling and we were talking about how hard it is to keep going with our plans and our lives between work, school and friends, and people expectations and so on... and I realized I had a pile of stuffs to do for the next day (which was Monday). Usually I would have been stressed out, I would have freaked out and had an emotional breakdown before starting to whine and complain about stress, school, life, people's expectations and the fact that you have no excuses to come up with whe you miss a deadline whether it is for school or work.

But this time, I stayed still for a minute and I said: "you know what? I don't care about of much work I have to do. I don't care about late submission. tonight is about me being stress free and I am going to enjoy it"

I wasn't really believing it myself but the more I said and repeat it to myself I actually got into that stress-free state of mind. I was smiling and I was feeling good at the idea of having not to deal with a pile of paperwork or the idea that I didn't have to stay up all night to finish any kind of stuff because at this very moment I had the choice and yes I decided NOT TO DO IT!!!

we talked about random things, laughing out loud, remembering awkward, stupid and totally innocent things we used to do when we were kids.

just having that time talking, laughing and remembering how simple life was made me realize how simple life is. we just need to find the time to stop for a minute and enjoy simple pleasures such as eating a tiramisu (which I did) , or playing I don't know... cards? or gardening? or just sit doing nothing just for the sake of you taking a break from all your life dramas.

Most of the time we think that this time not doing anything is a wasted time but you are in fact doing something : you are recreating yourself so that you can be more efficient and productive at whatever you are doing.

 I had a good time, I relaxed myself, I laughed in a way I hadn't for at least weeks and I loved every minute of it. It was just AWESOME!!!!!

 When was the last time you had a time just for you to enjoy yourself? when was the last time you smiled? laughed? not because you didn't get the joke but because you felt that you wanted to laugh and you felt good about it?

I am going to leave you with a little exercise I do every morning before leaving my house: stand in front of a mirror, try remembering something really funny that will make you laugh and you know what? just laugh about it in front of the mirror. Seeing yourself laughing in the mirror will make you laugh even more because it is contagious to see someone laughing. It will make your brain release endorphin which is a natural sedative that makes you feel good and plus laughing out loud makes us use 80 muscles which is more than a regular workout (http://forquestions.com/benefits-from-laughing-out-loud/141). You will start the day less stressed, on a healthy and brighter note , feeling good and more motivated.

So what are you waiting for to be the next Loudest Laugh winner ?