‘I want you to think about your three goals for this month,’ said the coach to the business club I go to. ‘Of those three goals, you will have one that is a “Must do,” one that is “Important,” and one that is a “Nice to do.” If you have any more than these it will be too much for you and you will be setting yourself up to fail.’

I looked at the three goals written down on the page. The first one, the “Must do,” is to get well again. I came out of the fog and physical weakness at the end of December but I’m still not well. The Moodscope scores are better than they were, but they are not yet back to normal.

For once, I am listening to advice.

‘Don’t push yourself,’ say my friends and family. ‘You won’t get better if you don’t rest.’ ‘You need some serious R&R.’ ‘Most of all,’ they say, ‘you need to be nice to Mary.’

They are right. I know they are right. It’s hard to accept but I can’t argue with the logic, and it’s what I tell other people, after all.

So today, with a score thirty points lower than a “normal” figure, I shall rest and relax, because I’m not well. There are senseless tears pricking my eyes and a lump in my throat. There is no reason for these feelings of discouragement and near desolation – they are part of still being a bit poorly.

It’s nearly lunchtime and there’s a pot of creamy soup in the fridge. After lunch there’s a comfortable chair and the cosy crime book I downloaded last night. Dinner is an easy curry with leftover chicken and a sauce from a jar. I’m taking it easy and being nice to myself.

I think many of us find it difficult to rest. I always think about all the productive things I could be doing instead of just sitting there; maybe you do too. Perhaps it is just not possible for you to rest because others depend on you, and that is hard. It may be possible however, to give yourself little treats; be nice to yourself.

We do all need to rest sometimes. And we definitely need to be nice to ourselves.

What do you do to rest, relax and be nice to you?

Mary

A Moodscope member.