A colleague approaches:
– To be honest, recently customer inquiries are mainly about the relationship with yourself, time for yourself.
In fact, it is something that at least a few people wish me on my birthday – time for myself. I have very little of it. Specifically, I hardly have it. The promise given to yourself on New Year’s Eve to stop working on weekends goes to waste in a week.
I wonder why we have (so little) time for ourselves.
What is the time for yourself? Let’s face it, the issue is quite extraordinary. After all, I do not abandon my body and soul that I should return to them and stay. Oh anyway? Maybe I am?
Time for yourself is taking care of yourself, taking care of your needs: physical, spiritual, security, attention.
Especially during the Soviet era, we were taught to take care of our physical and financial needs, which we named as social tasks: to finish school, to acquire a specialty, to buy a home, to start a family. And no one taught me to take care of oneself psychologically – to comfort, to support, to accept, to be loyal to oneself.
Are they teaching it now?
One of the answers to why we don’t have time for ourselves is a race of luck. Run to work, to the goal, to live life as best you can, to make the most of your time.
Maybe this is the time to meet the need to achieve, not to lag, to be important. But are these our real needs? Or are they imposed?
Perhaps you only need time to replenish your inner resources – energy, spiritual strength, resilience.
Resistance to the 21st century running seems like a utopia. People often say: I will rest in retirement, then I will take a breath. Well, I must sadden you, the miracle will not happen in retirement – we will have home repairs, untreated tomatoes, grandchildren.
So, the recipe is simple – do what you believe in, enjoy what you do, and enjoy a small cup of coffee. The time for big breaks may not come, and if it does, it is because something will stop us.
Maybe so, maybe so well.
Dr. Alisa Miniotaitė is a management and leadership expert, founder of UAB ALISA MANAGEMENT LABORATORY, Leadership Program Manager at ISM University of Management and Economics, certified ICC coach for the Baltic countries.
Commentary is published in the news radio show Leader’s Dilemma and news page 15min.lt
