2/11/2022

Letter from the Heart

Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like you are being pulled in a million different directions?

You Can’t Take Care Of Others If You Don’t Take Care Of Yourself First

Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like you are being pulled in a million different directions? At work, you are taking on more projects and responsibilities than you can handle, but you don’t want to let your team or boss down. At home, you take on extra tasks to make things easier for your significant other, children, or other family members. Amongst friends or social groups, you go above and beyond to do more so that everyone feels included or part of something. You are constantly putting the needs of others in front of your own, and while doing this is admirable it will also cause you to consistently feel fatigued, drained, and like your emotional and physical tanks are always running on empty. The truth of the matter is, you can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first.

 

You’re selfish! How can you think such a thing?! How can you possible say you have to put yourself first when there are so many people in your life that need your help?!

 

Did you think any of those thoughts after reading that last paragraph? I wouldn’t be surprised if you did because I struggle with those thoughts all the time. I’ve realized recently, however, that while you can extend yourself more than you should for those you love and care about, the cost of doing that ALL the time is just too high.

 

If you constantly put yourself second to others … your physical, mental, and emotional health will suffer. You need to make sure that physically you are always in the best condition so you can complete all the activities you need to on a daily basis. You need to make sure you are mentally in a good place so that you can accomplish your tasks in an efficient and timely manner – whether at work or at home. You need to make sure that you are emotionally strong at all times so that you have the ability to get yourself out of negative states of mind and get yourself back into positive ones. Prioritizing yourself first doesn’t make you selfish or a bad person. Prioritizing yourself first just means that you want to make yourself the best possible version of yourself, and this in turn will make it easier for you to help others.

 

So, don’t skip the gym because you’re too busy, don’t order fast food because you’re too swamped at work, don’t stay up late because you’re busy doing everyone else’s chores, don’t avoid taking the mental breaks you need during the day to recenter yourself when you’re feeling anxious.

 

DO take the time to take care of yourself. Your life will become a lot easier, happier, and more satisfying if you are start running on a full tank of gas versus an empty one.