YOU are the most important person in your life

You are the most important person in your life.  Fact.  How often do we ever think this though?!  We need to treat ourselves as we would treat a best friend, but often I hear this is not the case.  I hope to help with this, via the following post.

Many of the people that I support have an innate caring attitude; they care so much for others that they can find it difficult to spend time looking out for themselves.  This is a great trait to have (awesome in fact!) however it can also be detrimental to our health if we are not careful.

They may have a belief that they MUST look after everyone else first and foremost and that it really doesn’t matter too much about how they feel or what their needs are.

I too spent years feeling the same way.  Until one day, I realised that all this giving without sufficient receiving was actually making me ill.  I had been having migraines for years as a result of not taking care of myself well enough and I just kept taking the tablets!

Eventually I decided that I needed to do more than just treat them, I needed to beat them.

As a caring person, we generally think that we are definitely doing the right thing by looking after those around us – this often includes caring for people both at work and at home.  People love to be looked after and we get a buzz from caring, from giving, from receiving appreciation (hopefully, but not always!) and this in turn is what keeps us going at the time.

However, long-term, this isn’t enough.

The key to remember is this:  Looking after ourselves is NOT selfish.  Looking after ourselves well means that we are able to care and give much more to others as we are not then running on empty.  A car won’t go anywhere without any fuel – and neither should a human being.

Fuel consists of self-care at all levels:

1.      Eating properly

2.      Taking time for exercise

3.      Making time to socialise with those who build you up

4.      Taking time for YOU – doing the activities you most enjoy (not running out of time so they never get done) whether it’s reading a book or bungee-jumping…

5.      Ensuring you get enough sleep regularly (not just at the weekend or on days off)

6.      Setting expectations of others

7.      Putting boundaries in place to protect your own time

Keeping a positive frame of mind…

…is also essential for good well-being and this is much easier when your physical needs are being well supported.

Once YOU are in prime condition, you will be able to give care to others so much more easily as well as providing a better standard of care – because you are now in an enhanced state of wellbeing personally.

You will feel on top of the world, instead of drained, exhausted, potentially negative and probably unhappy.

Question: If you were the one being cared for – who would you like to have looking after you?  Someone who is drained and overwhelmed; or someone who is on top of their personal well-being?

I know which one I would prefer!

I hope this helps you to see the importance of self-care – it’s definitely NOT selfish – rather, it is VITAL!

You matter.

So, good luck with making self-care a priority for YOU.