Me First
Written by: Sabine Roggermeier
Don’t you hate it when people openly live with an attitude of “Me first”? How dare they! Then again, maybe some of them know something that we’re not aware of.
When was the last time you were on an airplane? Do you remember what the flight attendant said while showing you the oxygen mask? “Be sure to wear and secure your own mask before helping others.” Why? Because if you don’t you might die before you can aid anyone else. Would you ever consider this behaviour as selfish? No. Then why do we often think that caring for ourselves in other ways is? Putting yourself first isn’t selfish, but necessary if you want to be helpful to others. In fact self-care is the first step of taking care of others. Only when we have energy left can we share it with others, just like we cannot save anyone when we’re not getting any oxygen.
Sure, there might occur situations when others are in dire need so we might have to jump in heads first to support them. Those are not the times to exclusively live the “Me first” life style. Yet it’s exactly those moments when help is needed that show how important it is to take good care of us first. You see, regularly keeping up with our self-care creates a deep reservoir of self-love, rest and life energy we can draw from in those moments where we have to assist someone else in an instant.
So next time you’re inclined to postpone or even skip taking time for yourself, think of the oxygen mask – and put it on!
This week’s homework:
What’s your oxygen mask action this week?
