How Do You Reward Yourself?

Yesterday I burned 1630 calories, and I was feeling pretty good about it (I still am, despite having had a migraine due to a lack of sleep, which in turn was due to my horrid neighbours keeping me awake...again). As I ran my bath afterward, it occurred to me that despite finding time to spend 30-60 minutes in the bath most days, it is something I consider a real treat, especially when it has plenty of bubble bath and candles (I don't like having the light on in the bathroom because the extractor fan comes on at the same time, and it's really noisy). 

Image source: Jurlique Spa at the Firesky Resort, Arizona

I don't think I could ever take it for granted, and I certainly wouldn't ever want to give it up...not least because I can take my laptop with me, place it on the loo, hook it up to the speakers I have in there (yes I have speakers in my bathroom...don't you?!), and then watch opera without it disturbing amato mio (I promise you I don't sing along to it....I save that for when I'm cooking)! 

This got me thinking about other ways in which I reward myself, and I realised that it's never food or drink-related. My rewards are playing videogames, having a quiet hour reading, laying on the sofa with my eyes closed while listening to music, or knitting (I know you're all soooo jealous of my rock 'n' roll lifestyle....go on, it's OK to admit it!). 

I truly believe that it's important to give ourselves rewards; we are not automatons, and we all need to have 'me' time...especially if we are caring for others because it's so easy to lose sight of ourselves as people in our own right. It's easy to become resentful (c'mon, we've all been there), which makes it even more essential we get time to ourselves. It's not selfish, and there is absolutely no value in martyrdom - no one appreciates it. Besides, it never hurts for those around us to be reminded that we have our own needs!

So what are your rewards? And what would be your ultimate way to spend 'you' time? 

~~~

PS I have to share this...because it is rather shocking! I was looking for an image to go with this post, so typed 'me time' into Google images. Oh my.... Scroll down to where it says page 8. Be prepared to be mortified! Yikes! Not safe for work or kids, by the way.