For some reason, it has become noble to work yourself to a frazzle and simply take care of other people’s needs. It shouldn’t be that way. In fact, it’s not just an unhealthy stance to take, it’s also dangerous and counterproductive. You should take care of yourself so you have the energy to help others and the good health not require others to take care of you. There are some emergencies where that doesn’t hold true, but for the day-to-day schedule, you deserve to be number one.
Have you ever wondered why the parents are supposed to put on their oxygen mask before they do their child’s?
If you’ve listened to the flight attendant when they’re explaining emergency procedures, they always tell parents to put on oxygen masks first, before attending to children. That’s logical. The parent is responsible for putting on both the child’s mask and theirs and if they are unconscious from lack of oxygen, they can’t do both. The same logic holds true for taking care of yourself. Luckily, in everyday life, it’s not a matter of emergency or doing one before the other. It’s a matter of putting yourself on the priority list, just as you would any other important person.
It’s okay to say no occasionally.
If you find you’re on every committee, because everyone knows you’ll do a good job or nobody else will do the job, maybe it’s time to put a halt to that. People often find themselves running the minute their feet hit the ground in the morning. That’s very noble, but you need to take time for yourself. You need both time to take care of yourself, like going to the gym and eating healthy meals, but also time to decompress and be still. It’s okay to schedule time for that’s just for you and tell others no if you don’t want to take on another commitment or if interferes with your “you” time.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with work and resented family members who sat and watched TV?
The first thing to identify is whether you asked for help. If you didn’t, why not? Was it your sense of pride that stopped you? You don’t have to handle everything yourself. In fact, you’ll often find that people are glad to help when you ask. Instead of resenting family members or co-workers for not helping, why not ask them to help? You don’t have to be the demigod of work. If you’re happy to help others, they’re probably feeling the same.
- Decide what makes you happy and pursue it. You have choices. There are ways to enhance your life and do more things that truly make you smile. Focus on your happiness. It doesn’t mean you aren’t taking care of others in the process.
- Taking care of yourself also means being kind to yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, beating yourself up over those mistakes isn’t productive. Learn from them and move on.
- Self-care might be anything from taking time to meditate, learning something new or giving yourself some praise when it’s deserved. It could be something as simple as giving yourself a few minutes to nap.
- Self care isn’t selfish. In fact, it can actually be helping another person. It feels good to help someone in need and the key difference is doing it when you want, not because you feel forced into it.
For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training