You Need to Put Yourself First

Family & Parenting, Lifestyle & Home, Parenting, Relationships, Self-Care & Improvement

When you learn to put yourself first in your life, you will be healthier, lower your stress, and have fewer regrets. Keep reading for all the reasons why.

In today’s society, it’s very normal to put your career first and everything else on the back burner. Unfortunately, that leads to missing out on milestones, holidays, birthdays, picnics, not taking care of yourself and eventually, burnout.

Why do we do this? Because we’ve been taught that if you aren’t making money, you should be finding a way to make more money. We’ve been taught that to call in to work when we’re sick is a weakness we can’t afford. We’ve been taught to take the extra shift and do whatever it takes to please our bosses.

Even if it’s not for our careers, many of us try to put everyone else ahead of ourselves. We have trouble saying no to anything and end up leaving ourselves with no time for self care. None of that is healthy for us or our families and it’s time to take back our lives.

Not putting yourself first can make you sick!

When you are constantly stressed out, your body feels that along with your mind. Your blood pressure goes up, your cortisol levels go up, and your entire system feels it. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Emotional stress is a major contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the United States: cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respiratory disorders, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide.” No paycheck is worth that.

Your mood will improve.

When you put yourself and your family first, your mood will improve and stabilize. Ups and downs are normal but feeling happy one second and ready to cry the next is not.

Your confidence will go up!

When you take care of yourself, your confidence will improve. Have you ever felt that mental boost after pampering yourself a little? Maybe it was getting a pedicure or perhaps just a long, hot shower. Taking care of yourself helps you feel like you can accomplish anything.

It enhances mental clarity and self-esteem!

Speaking of feeling like you can accomplish anything, taking care of yourself leads to enhanced mental clarity and higher self-esteem. Do you ever feel like your mind is stuck in a fog, unable to think quickly or clearly? That’s known as “brain fog” and is a very common effect when you don’t take proper care of yourself.

You will improve your relationships.

When you take care of yourself, you are more open and able to put energy into your relationships as well. Instead of tiredly saying “that’s nice, honey” when your child shows you what they drew in art class, you will be able to look at it and have a meaningful interaction with them. You will have the energy and mental clarity to strengthen your relationships with your kids, your spouse, your friends, and even your coworkers. You will be able to be present when you are with the people you care about and that time is something you can never get back.

Conclusion:

You need to put yourself first in order to be able to accomplish everything else that you want to do in your life. Your family, friends, and even your work (if they are smart and value you) will thank you for it.

Please share your favorite strategies for taking care of yourself or how it’s changed your life below in the comments.