Leave a Little Space for
Yo u rs e l f E a c h D a y
Most people think they get this, but most people might be
wrong. You may think you have a little quality time each day
for yourself, but I bet you don’t. You see, even in our time
alone, we spend so much of it worrying about others, caring
for our family, friends, and loved ones, that there is very little
left over entirely for ourselves. What I am proposing isn’t revo-
lutionary or difficult or extreme. In fact, it’s pretty easy. Just
leave a little space for yourself each day. Perhaps only ten min-
utes (ideally half an hour) put aside and devoted entirely to
yourself. Selfish? You bet. Of course it is and justifiably so—
you are the captain, the engine, the driving force, the
motivator, the rock. You need that time to regenerate, renew,
invigorate yourself. You need that downtime to recharge and
repair. If you don’t, you aren’t taking on fresh fuel. Your engine
will run down, and so will you.
So what are you going to do with that time? Answer:
absolutely nothing. And I do mean nothing. This isn’t time for
lying in the bath, sitting on the toilet, meditating, reading the
newspapers, or sleeping. This is a little space for you, a
breather, a time to sit still and do absolutely nothing. Just
breathe. I find that ten minutes sitting in the garden just
breathing is a fantastic boost a couple of times a day. I sit
there, not thinking, not doing, not worrying, just being, while
I appreciate the pleasure of being alive.
I discovered this Rule when I was a teenager. I found it invalu-
able as a way of purging myself of angst and worries. My
mother used to call out to me, “What are you doing?” To
which the reply was inevitably, “Nothing.” And she would
always reply, “Well come in here, and I’ll find you something