Steps to a Better Me: Put Yourself First. Be selfish!
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If you’ve ever traveled by plane, you’ve surely heard, during the safety speeches, “In the event of an emergency, put your oxygen mask on first.” Why do you think that is? The answer can be worded in numerous ways but my take is that, you are most useful when your own well-being has been catered to.
This brings me to the introduction of a very obscene word, by societal standards: selfish. It’s true, the context to which it is applied is usually of questionable nature but keep an open mind and allow me to present some arguments on why it’s necessary and justifiable for us to be selfish, sometimes.
You Owe it to Yourself to put you first
Like everyone else, who reminds you about their needs and wants, you need to remind yourself that you also have needs and wants that need to be catered to, and it just happens that they, most likely, won’t be catered to, unless, you cater to them. Drop the superhero-ing and go save yourself.
You lose time trying to make others happy Sometimes
We find ourselves being something of a ‘people pleaser’, for one reason or another and this has the potential to leave us miserable and feeling like a great deal of our time has been wasted.
The question I’ll ask is, “What’re you gonna do about it?” Are you going to continue the thankless job of people pleasing or are you going to get tough and gets to working on the things that’ll matter to you.
“What’re you gonna do about it?”
Everyone will eventually get over it
Providing that you’re not neglecting key responsibilities, everyone will get over your new found desire to cater to yourself and your own needs over all else, and those that don’t, never had your best interest at heart, in the first place.
You only live once
One of the most common regrets that persons have at the end of their life. Tends to be, not doing or committing to the things that mattered to them. What makes this a dire matter is the fact that the only life that we’re sure about, is the one that we currently have and with that said, it only makes sense to live it in accordance to you making your needs numero uno, as often as you can.
Hey, no one is saying to be that person that practices toxic selfishness, on the contrary, be the one who inspires others through the practice of healthy selfishness. Take day offs, reward yourself, start on your goals, pursue your dreams. Whatever it is, trust that when all is said and done you will not come to regret putting yourself first.