Why It’s Important to Take Care of Yourself First

Finding the balance between taking care of others and caring for ourselves is an intimidating challenge. We’re enlisted to give back, volunteer, donate, compassionately manage others, care for aging parents and ensure our children have a loving, caring, supportive place to develop (cue guilt trip). Nope, no “me time” happening anytime soon. Pull, pull, push, push, no time to be centered.

No wonder we regress on our own goals and push our dreams aside. We don’t eat correctly, we’re stressed out, and we go to bed exhausted without checking anything off of our own to-do list. Things we know are important such as exercise become luxuries, and we regularly excuse ourselves from enjoyable activities by saying “I don’t have the time.” We’re so busy taking care of others that our own self-care goes out the window.

What we don’t see is the safety mask hanging down in front of us —we’re too caught up in our drama to notice. This mask will give us the refreshing moment we need! It will revive our soul, ignite our energy, and simply give us the energy to take the next step. Unfortunately, when we finally see it, we push it aside, because we believe those in front of us are more deserving of our time and care than ourselves. Clearly, our personal needs are not as important.