The Importance Of Committing To Yourself
The large number of commitments we have, whether in the professional, family or social sphere, leads us to end the weeks exhausted. The most worrying thing is that we don’t have time for ourselves, to relax and rest, to enjoy our company. This is a consequence of over-commitments, this negative habit that ends up affecting our health. However, we need to emphasize the importance of committing to yourself.
It seems that if we don’t go to various events during the week, we’ll be cut off from our social circle, and if we don’t keep our commitments to others, they’ll end up ignoring us. It’s important to reflect on this and put an end to this attitude if we start to feel bad.
Going to all the events to which we are invited can indicate a lack of assertiveness, as sometimes we cannot simply say “no”, despite the need to do so. This can happen because of an excessive desire to please others, or because in this way we avoid being alone with ourselves.
Several surveys warn that the social gatherings we attend today far exceed those our parents attended. Instead of taking advantage of leisure time to rest and disconnect from the stress of the week, we end up creating another source of stress in our daily lives.
Treat yourself as a priority and learn to commit to yourself
Who do we want to please with so many social gatherings? Ourselves or others? Answering this question with complete honesty saves us from excess stress and, in the end, from discomfort.
Sometimes we must prioritize and say “no”. We cannot always fulfill the expectations of others and leave ours to one side. It’s not about isolating and moving away from the circles of relationships, but about maintaining healthy bonds and taking breaks for ourselves.
leisure sickness
Leisure is necessary to live, to enjoy and, above all, to eliminate stress. The brain needs to disconnect for a minimum of hours and stop working. Therefore, leisure activities are a good alternative to rest and have fun. However, leisure can also turn into stress, insecurity, obligation and commitments.
Dutch psychologist Ad Vingerhoets, a professor at the University of Tilburg, decided to analyze one of his personal problems: he never gets sick, except on weekends. To do this, he asked other people if they felt the same way, and some of them agreed with him. They got sick in the summer, on Christmas or on Fridays.
Regarding this matter, psychologist Maria Jesus González explains that “we are not facing a disease itself. It is an alteration, not even well typified, therefore, there are no specific therapies”. Despite this, it is now known that stress affects the immune system, and that this leisure illness is nothing but another way of calling one of the different types of anxiety.
As we can see, in order to enjoy our leisure and free time, we must be realistic with ourselves and with the activities we can do. We must have a reasonable program, not accumulate activities for no reason and, of course, never forget the benefits of break times, those when we do nothing.
