Today, I got myself a new book, a backpack for my laptop, and a 16 GB USB drive. We then went as a family out to BJ’s Restaurant for my son’s birthday dinner and had one of their famous Pizookies for dessert.

Why did I bring this up? It’s a reminder of what we all need to do: Do something nice for ourselves.

We devote most of our time to working. We have jobs, errands, and chores. Even the creative work we do still requires work. We have responsibilities to other people, including our spouses, children, bosses, and customers. We must often deal with stress and frustration. At times, the people we do things for don’t seem to appreciate our efforts. We may be asked to give more than we’re physically able. We can wind up feeling like a well that is running dry.

When we do nice things for ourselves, we replenish that well. We can appreciate ourselves, celebrate our progress, and recharge our energy. We feel like we can give to ourselves. And when we replenish our well, we can feel better about working and giving to others again.

Doing something nice for ourselves doesn’t be expensive or elaborate. Sleep in an extra hour. Play cat videos on YouTube. Do something to take care of yourself, relieve stress, and make you feel valuable. It will give you the strength to continue doing the work.