Admit it or not, at some point you have suffered from the disease to please doing things for everybody and never saying “no.” The problem is you may be neglecting the one person who needs you the most — YOU!

Here are 5 ways to recharge yourself:

1. Lighten up the burden of imposing high standards on yourself. Most often than not, these self-imposed high standard makes us cringe with guilt whenever we commit a self-nurturing act.

We create high expectations that are too difficult to meet, and when things don’t work out the way we planned it, we blame ourselves in the end. The fact is no one is capable of doing everything. We need no one’s permission to do something for ourselves except ourselves.

2. Make your favorite activity a part of your daily routine. If reading a self-help book or making a morning walk makes you unwind or shed off negative energy or simply allows you to lose yourself in your own thoughts, then by all means, include it in your daily agenda.

If you practice this self-nurturing act in your daily routine, it will eventually become something important that needs to be done as opposed to something you would like to do if you found the time.

3. Create a ritual for your favorite activity. Be it going to a beauty salon every Sunday for a manicure or going to a spa for a body massage every two weeks, make your favorite activity a habit and you won’t run the risk of putting it off.

Making it a priority will also give you something to look forward to. The best part is that once your special activity becomes permanently scheduled, everyone around you will not expect too much from you, thus less intrusions on your special days.

4. Call in favors from parents and relatives. Asking favors from your parents or in-laws for asking them to take in the kids so you can special time alone with your hubby can be understandable enough.

If you don’t have kids but still need some time off, don’t be afraid to ask favors. The idea here is to reciprocate favors, a practice that works for everyone involved.

5. Turn off the television, phone or computer. Just for an entire evening, don’t answer the phone nor answer your E-mails nor put on loud music.

The lack of incessant ringing and noise from radio or television will likely come as a great relief; and fewer disruptions will free you to focus on something you really want to do, such as reading a good novel or writing letters the traditional way.

The point is in whatever self-care act you do to yourself as long as you are completely happy about it, and then indulge yourself. Pampering yourself with any activity that pleases your senses and makes your energy on high level would surely increase your self-esteem and boost your confidence.

So, be it sitting in your patio after work to get rid of work-related tension or visiting the church for true peace and tranquility, what we need is to make time for things we really love doing as an act of nurturing ourselves not only for our self-preservation but also for our harmonious relationship with others.