I love to think of our journey in life as a road trip. Being that I’ve taken so many road trips lately (you can read my Healthy Eating Tips for a Southern Road Trip here!), this analogy seems fitting right now. The aspect of this analogy that I want to dive into today is the car or the vehicle that gets you from point A to point B—our bodies.

Before a road trip, it’s a good idea to get the car checked out at the body shop, make sure the air in the tires is filled up, that the engine is running properly and that you have enough oil and gas to make it to your destination. You may even drive it through the car wash and make sure it’s clean—inside and out before you set off on your trip. As you travel though, with every mile, you use up gas and oil, the tires wear out, the outside may get dirty and it’s likely you may hit a few bumps in the road. Unless you’re driving within a tank’s range, you’re going to have to stop to refuel, use the restroom, grab a snack and whatever else you may need to do to keep going.

Just like this car on our road trip, our bodies need a break. We need time to stop, to refuel and to reenergize. Think about it–when was the last time you took a break for yourself for self-care or for “me-time”? “Me-time” looks different for everyone. While one person may like to recharge with a facial or massage someone else may like to take a day and do absolutely nothing with no obligations to the outside world.

For me, I love a day that I can take for myself where I get enough sleep, maybe take a nap, take as long as I want at the gym with no time restrictions, read a good book and, if it’s summertime, perhaps lounge by the pool with a glass of wine and get a good tan. My point is, it’s important to schedule time for yourself before it’s too late and you burnout. Going too hard for too long with obligations, meetings, work and events and not enough time for yourself will absolutely cause you to get tired and burnout. If you’re in school—the same goes for you, too! I remember my sophomore year of college I was so involved with so many organizations and clubs that I’d leave one meeting early to get to another meeting late. I was always tired and I wasn’t managing my time well, at all. On top of class and a social life—it was just too much and eventually I got sick with mono. :/

Now, someone may say, but I’m a people person, I get re-energized around people. I’m a people person, too, but now more than ever, I love to retreat back into my personal space when I need to refresh. If you do gain energy by being with people, your time is precious, make sure you’re spending it with the right people and not people that are toxic or suck life and energy out of you with negative attitudes. Who’s got time for that?! Choose (notice I said choose) people that lift you up and that bring the positivity. But I do encourage you, and I know it’s hard if you always like to be with people, try to spend some time alone, just you with your thoughts. We are constantly bombarded with so much noise and outside clutter—getting time to ourselves doesn’t happen unless we plan it and schedule it.

It’s important to be proactive about your health. Guard your time like you would things that mean a lot to you. This past weekend was the first weekend in weeks, and it may be safe to say, months, that I had no obligations and it felt amazing to just enjoy the weekend without any plans. Yes, sometimes you need a vacation from the vacation if it wasn’t relaxing at all! If you find yourself being pulled in too many directions or maybe you’re overworking yourself, take control, be proactive and reschedule things that can be rescheduled. It’s okay to turn things down and say no.

Remember, you control your schedule and you’re in charge of your life. If your schedule is getting filled up, post-pone things or schedule things further out. You don’t need to give anyone an explanation or reason why you can’t meet or attend their event. If you do choose to offer an explanation or they press you for one, tell them by saying you have that time already scheduled out for personal reasons.

Not only does this personal time refresh your brain, it also refreshes our bodies. If you want to be at your peak and show up at your best every day, then you need to rest and you need to before your body forces you and you get sick or you get injured. Listen to your body and treat it with care. Look out for yourself—your mind and your body and take care of them!

I want to know how you recharge and refuel! Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo