Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a life coach. It’s an interesting concept. Most people have probably never considered the idea of getting a life coach, but in theory, I guess it makes a reasonable amount of sense. All elite athletes have a coach to help them train. A coach can see things in you that you are unable to see in yourself and therefore, they are able to direct you toward the best path for success.

Unlike a therapy session or a counseling session, which delves into your past to understand the present, life coaching analyzes the present in order to help bring positive change to your future.

At the end of my coaching session, I felt like I had been shown my own reflection, and that reflection wasn’t muddled or distorted. It was a perfect mirror, and I was able to see my own life with a level of clarity that I hadn’t seen prior to the session.

I didn’t receive bucket loads of advice from this coach. In fact, I think good coaches rarely tell you what to do— they illuminate the way so that YOU know exactly what to do and can make those important decisions yourself. This particular coach did happen to give me a piece of advice, and I’m so happy that she did. It’s such a great piece of advice that I’m going to pass it on to you. It sounds obvious, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. Are you ready? Here goes:

Do something for yourself every single day.

Did you get that? You probably think you do, and maybe you do. I thought I got it, but I didn’t.

I said to the coach, “I always do things for myself! I wake up at the crack of dawn each day and exercise, just for ME! I stay up late preparing healthy meals for the next day. That’s also for ME! I practice yoga to balance all of my strength training and to stay limber. And I even meditate every night! Trust me, I’m doing lots of things for myself.  I’ve got this concept down pat.”

The coach listened. We then discussed each of the items that I rattled off my list. After talking for quite a while, I came to understand that everything that I did each day for myself was out of obligation, not pleasure. The coach’s intention behind her suggestion to do something for myself every single day was based on pure pleasure.

Yes, I happen to enjoy my daily wellness habits, but I’m not doing any of those items for pleasure. I exercise, meditate, stretch and cook for hours to maintain good health and to avoid painful flare-ups. I do them religiously because I value my health and partly because I fear the pain and immobility that accompanies an autoimmune flare-up.

So now…. Time to re-evaluate. Do I do something for myself every single day? Purely for pleasure? Probably not. I am ready to make this change. Are you? It doesn’t have to be an hour-long activity. It can even be 15 minutes. What do you love? Maybe it’s a cup of tea at a favorite café. Maybe it’s a bath at night. Maybe it’s a bike ride or a half hour with a magazine or good novel. Whatever it is, let it be something with no strings attached. No guilt attached.

Do it for your well-being. Do it as a daily ritual to honor yourself.

Please share what you plan on doing each day in the comments section below!