I think it is widely accepted that it is unrealistic to hope for the perfect life. A life where everything is always rosy and our mood is consistently elated.

Lowering our expectations, is it possible to engineer a perfect day? Just one day when you and you alone choose what to do. We talk about ME time but this is a ME day. 

No feelings of guilt for being selfish. You are putting yourself first for just one day.

A few weeks ago I thought I would try this experiment. I chose a Saturday when the calendar was clear. Nobody amongst friends or family was expecting any support from me. There were no urgent household tasks to do and the garden was fairly neat and tidy.

I needed a plan for the day. The weather forecast was good and physically I felt fine. This was the plan I made in my mind the day before:

- Read the morning Moodsope post. 

- Leave the house fairly early before 10.30 and walk down to the village bowling green. (about 15 minutes).

- Practice bowling for about 45 minutes and then return home.

- Rest for a short while and have a light early lunch.

- Leave home again around 13.00 and drive to the venue for the afternoon whist drive. 

- At the end of the whist drive, about 16.30, return home. 

- Take a rest (probably a nap!).

- Enjoy an evening curry with my family.

- Listen to some of my favourite music.

- Spend an hour or so watching TV

- Retire to bed.   

Did the day go to plan? Yes, the only slight blemish was the occurrence of one of my regular ‘strange turns’. This happened just before the whist started but only lasted a few minutes. I successfully managed it and no one else was troubled by it.

I felt very satisfied that my ME day had gone according to plan. Of course it was very self indulgent (self indulgence could be the subject of another post) but the only time I felt a slight twinge of guilt was at the beginning when I left the house.

I am not suggesting this can be repeated on a regular basis but it can improve your MH in many ways. For example, self esteem gets a boost, both body and mind become relaxed by working in unison, and it provides material for another blog post!     

Do you think this is something you would enjoy? Go on treat yourself.

Incidentally, none of my nearest or dearest were aware how I had treated the day, although they knew the places I was visiting.

Teg

A Moodscope member