Take Care of #1

As many of you know, this is day #22 of the 30-Day Blogging Challenge. If there has ever been a time in my life that I have had to manage my time and get organized, it has been these past 22 days. What a great journey this has been as we begin to round third base for the inevitable homerun.

This past week, specifically, has been an incredibly difficult one for me. Like so many others, I have had to deal with some level of chronic pain each day. These past seven days have been excruciating. I’m not one to complain. I have learned it doesn’t get me anywhere, nor does it make me feel any better.

And so, I have come face-to-face with these basic facts I know to be true. This has been a week of taking care of everyone and everything else instead of myself. Problem numero uno! And so, a reminder to myself and others, why…

You have to take care of #1 – YOU!

You are important and you deserve it! You deserve to be treated just as well, if not better, than how well you treat others in your life. You have to shut down that noise in your head that says you don’t need it, deserve it, or haven’t earned it. Pooey! You are important, you matter and your needs have to come first. Refer back to my post, “Rid Yourself of Negative Thinking (part I and II).”

Your physical and mental health are paramount to achieving true happiness in your life. You need to take the time to eat well, drink well, and sleep well. This means taking the extra time to pay attention to what your body is telling you. Unfortunately, I waited too long this time. My body literally SCREAMED out at me until I came to a complete stop. My body does a great job at letting me know when it’s had enough through various communicators within my system. (Hint: headaches, diarrhea, upset stomach, et. al)

You can’t help anyone else if you can’t take care of yourself! Yes, you read correctly. If you are run down, whipped and basically exhausted, you can’t be of service to anyone else. This means everyone is suffering, but especially you. Whether you are married, single or otherwise, you won’t be able to care for others. You have to take the time to care for yourself to ensure you can care for your kids, partner, friends, relatives or clients.

Achieving your goals is dependent on how well you are doing. If you’re not taking care of yourself first, you’re not going to have any gas in the tank to take you where you need to go. Of course, this statement can be interpretated literally. However, it also means that if you’re not giving yourself adquate care and tender love, then you won’t be able to take-on and complete projects, circumvent obstacles in your path, and celebrate those goals you’ve been striving to reach.

You have to say ‘no’. This is so important and something I definitely haven’t done well this week. As much as you may want to help everyone who asks, do as much as you can, and say yes to every request of your time and energy, you have to muster up the strength to say ‘no’ and establish some boundaries. If you aren’t able to do this, you will find yourself stretched too far. You will begin to feel as though everyone is ‘taking advantage’ of you and you might even begin to feel some resentment.

And so, today, I have had to practice what I preach. Today has been a day set aside to take care of myself. As much as I’d like to tell you that I’m really good at doing all of these things, it’s a learning process. This post is written just as much for you as it is written as reminder to myself.

Don’t push yourself to your limit.

This isn’t a race and there isn’t an award to be won.

Why do you take care of #1 and how do you do it?

©Julie Corbett