Who is at the top of your priority list? Your
children, husband, partner, pets, work, friends?
How many times have you not done something because
"it's only for me"?
Would you like to have "ME" at the top of
that list?
Over the next 40 days, that's where you are going
to learn to put yourself, just by making little changes to your every day
life.....
It takes 21 days for an action to become a habit -
we've got 40 days.....are you up for the challenge?
I found this article on-line - it sums up HOW to
make those changes and is a great summary of WHY we should put ourselves first
:-)
Put Yourself First
Reach Other Goals by Starting With
Your Self
You’re a parent, school volunteer, Little League
coach, and trusted assistant to your boss. You’ve been up since 6 a.m., made
breakfast, packed lunches, cleaned the house, chauffeured the neighbourhood
kids, helped with homework, read bedtime stories and finished extra work
from the office. It’s 11:30.You’re exhausted. And, in about six-and-a-half
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 (hey, there are reasons that men die younger than women)—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. What’s more, being busy is not necessarily the same as being productive with meaningful activity. (Do the workaholics you know really accomplish that much more in proportion to the time they invest?) If “putting yourself first” (a common admonition) 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? 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. Since most of us already know that we should take care of ourselves—but often have trouble figuring out how to do it, here are some guidelines for getting there:
· 1)
Preserve your physical health with adequate sleep, exercise, and nutrition.
· 2)
Value your emotional health as much as the physical, with a support system of
friends and a willingness to laugh—especially at yourself.
· 3)
Schedule fun activities on a regular basis—it’s just as important to plan
pleasure as it is to plan work.
· 4)
Identify “busy behaviours” (or people) that drain your time and energy but
aren’t really important, then dump ‘em, or at least minimize their hold on
you.
· 5)
Kill two birds with one stone, combining family time with exercise, for example,
which benefits everyone involved.
· 6)
Try to look at the problems in your life with new eyes to find solutions. If
you’re a new mum, for instance, see if you can trade childcare with another
new mum to get some time for yourself.
· 7)
Learn to say “No!” Your “yes” is valuable and should not be automatic.
Instead, reserve it for the things that are most important to you.
· 8)
Don’t try to change every problem area in your life all at once. Start with
one or two items, then expand as you get things under control.
·
· Your
life should be like a bank 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 10-minute walk or a healthy nutritious
meal—you’ll be amazed at the interest you’ll reap.
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