You stay up all night baking the cookies when your child tells you the night before he volunteered, you’d do it. You work extra hours to ensure there’s enough money to buy your daughter her favorite doll or have the special equipment for your child’s favorite sport. The problem is you exhaust yourself. You need to take care of yourself first. You can’t take care of your family if you’re not healthy.
It’s why the oxygen masks have instructions to put yours on first.
If you’ve ever flown and actually paid attention to the preflight safety instructions, you’ll note that the instructions are to put on your oxygen mask before you put on your child’s. That’s so you remain alert and don’t pass out. If you’re putting on your child’s oxygen mask, they’re probably not old enough to put on yours even if they remain alert. Staying healthy by taking time to exercise isn’t selfish. It makes sense. If you’re not healthy, who will take care of your children? You may become sick. That could force children to give up their childhood and become caretakers.
You need to value yourself.
People often think it’s narcissistic to like themselves, but it’s not. It’s necessary. That doesn’t mean the type of love where you pass any reflective area and stop to look at yourself with admiration. It means valuing yourself enough to know you deserve to be healthy and worthy of love. That’s what every human deserves. If you’re truly narcissistic you believe that you, and you alone, deserve those things, and not everyone else. Taking time to exercise, getting adequate rest, and eating healthy aren’t luxuries, they’re necessities.
Listening to your own body doesn’t mean ignoring other people’s needs.
It’s not an either-or proposition. You aren’t taking anything away from your family by taking care of yourself. If anything, you’re giving them a parent with more energy that will live longer and require less care. Respecting your feelings and your need to take care of yourself is the kindest thing you can do for your family. When children leave the nest, they want to visit mom and dad, not take care of them. Living a healthier lifestyle puts more years on your life and puts more life in those years.
- If you never say no to others’ requests, you’re saying that your time isn’t valuable. Learning to say no to requests your family or friends could do themselves isn’t wrong. They are no more important than you.
- Don’t neglect to get adequate rest. It’s not selfish, but selfless. When you are well-rested, you have more energy and can accomplish more in less time than you otherwise could.
- Being everything to everyone can create resentment. Not only is buried anger bad for your health, but it’s also unfair to the other person. The other person doesn’t know there’s a problem unless you tell them.
- Taking care of yourself means more than physically caring for yourself. It includes mental care. Take time to do what you love. If you need a nap, take one. Exercise, eat healthy, get sleep, and enjoy life. If you enjoy doing things for others, do it, but also take time for your own care.
For more information, contact us today at Travel Trim