Putting yourself first!!

Put Yourself First
Reach Other Goals by Starting With Yourself

You’re a parent, school volunteer, football coach, team mom, have a full-time job along with being a part-time student, assistant to your boss, colleague and jack of all trades! You’ve been up since 6 a.m., made breakfast, packed lunches, cleaned the house, chauffeured the neighborhood kids, helped with homework, read bedtime stories, and finished extra work from the office. It’s 11:30. You’re exhausted and, in about five hours you’ll begin the whole 24-hour cycle…again.

If you find yourself saying ‘Stop the merry-go-round, I want to get off!’ you’re not alone. Most of us (especially women) but men too have at some time found ourselves at the bottom of the heap when it comes to taking care of our needs.

The problem with that is that if we don’t take care of ourselves, sooner or later we won’t be of much use to anyone else, or to ourselves. Just as the airline attendant tells you to put on your own oxygen mask in an emergency before helping a child with theirs, you must take care of your own basic needs before you can attend to the needs of others.

That statement is hard for many of us to make reality!

If “putting yourself first” sounds too selfish or too hard, try something simpler: put yourself on an equal footing with those you love and tend to. Do you insist that they get enough sleep? Start making that a priority for yourself too. Do you give them time for fun and socializing with friends? Do you tell them to stop and smell the roses? Do you make sure they are eating nutritiously? Then you do the same!

Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: human beings must meet their basic needs before they can move on to higher-level goals.

Here are some guidelines to help get you there:

Preserve your physical health with adequate sleep, exercise, and nutrition.
Value your emotional health as much as the physical, with a support system of friends and a willingness to laugh, especially at yourself. Do things that make you happy.
Schedule fun activities on a regular basis.

It’s just as important to plan pleasure as it is to plan work.

Identify “busy behaviors” (or people) that drain your time and energy but aren’t really important, then dump ‘em, or at least minimize their hold on you. Negative energy can be a physical/emotional and spiritual drain on us just as much as stress from work or physical labor.
Combine family time with exercise which benefits everyone involved. Make it fun! Explore your environment and take a journey.

Try to look at the problems in your life with new eyes to find solutions. If you’re a new mom see if you can trade childcare with another new mom to get some time for yourself.
Learn to say “No!” Those of us who are "Yes" people find this very hard to accomplish. Try saying "No" a few times this week and see what happens. Reserve that “yes” statement for the things that are most important to you.

Don’t try to change every problem area in your life all at once. Make a list of problem areas or tasks you would like to complete. Start out small, prioritize and accomplish things one by one.

Your life should be like a checking account, balancing out on a regular basis so that you always have assets to draw upon. By making even small deposits, taking care of yourself with a

15-minute walk, nutritious meal, meditation, time with friends.

Try it! You will be amazed at the results.

What will you do for yourself today? Tomorrow? This week?