“Mommy, can you put fingernail polish on my nails? Please?” my four-year-old daughter implored.
“Sure, honey,” I replied. I was rather preoccupied with other things, but she wanted this simple thing so badly that I couldn’t say no. With that, we were off to play “Beauty Shop.”
While I put the red polish on her small fingernails, she chattered away about this and that. Suddenly, she stopped and asked me, “Are you going to polish your nails, too?”
“Ah, no. I don’t need to do that.”
“But why, Mommy? It’s fun and looks pretty.”
You know, I didn’t have a good answer for her, so I agreed that maybe I should paint my nails, too. I finished her up, and she sat there, watching me intently until I chose my nail color and started on my hands.
Once I got going with it, I noticed how differently, a bit elegant even, my hands looked with the pearl-colored polish shimmering in the light. I also was aware of how differently I felt. How could something small like fingernail polish make me feel better?
According to WebMD,
“…despite — or maybe because of — economic stress, people aren’t totally zeroing out creature comforts. It’s not about lavish luxuries — decadence went down the drain along with the stock market months ago — but about simpler, less costly treats.”
While it doesn’t make sense to live a high-end lifestyle if your income level has changed, that doesn’t mean that you have to forego every kind of indugence.
Here are a few ideas that cost little or nothing:
- Go to the library, check out a few books that you’ve been dying to read, and then take a chunk of time every day to read and relax.
- Buy a box of your favorite tea or coffee (or, in my case, hot chocolate!) Enjoy a hot mug of it.
- Draw a warm bath and soak.
- Watch past episodes of your favorite TV comedy on Hulu and laugh!
Doing something for yourself once in a while can get you in a better frame of mind to tackle that job search with renewed vigor. Plus, it just feels good.
Even if it’s as simple as painting your nails.
sunday morning courtesy of Flóra
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Stevie Puckett, The Resume Chick. The Resume Chick said: RT @TheJobQuest The #jobhunt is stressful. Are u taking time 4 u? Read: The Restorative Effects of Treating Yourself http://ow.ly/22SUx [...]