35: Why Focusing on Yourself is the Least Selfish Think You Can Do

Have you ever wondered why on a plane they tell you to put an oxygen mask on first before helping your child? If you don’t put your mask on first, you’re going to pass out and not be able to help anyone.

It’s the same thing for our lives.

If we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t give to those around us.

This is why taking time to care for yourself is actually the most unselfish thing you can do.Your energy is the best way you can give to your family and the world – so take care of yourself so that your energy is on fire.

I want to give you three actionable steps today that will help you practice self-care.

1. Get enough sleep. I am a total night owl, but I have converted to sticking to a 10 p.m. bedtime to give myself enough rest each night. It makes a huge difference in how I feel not only when my alarm goes off but throughout the day. It’s so easy to let exhaustion take control of your emotions, so eliminate that variable entirely by heading to bed earlier.
2. A proper diet and exercise is non-negotiable. I talked about it in this post but one of my goals I WILL meet this year is taking care of myself physically. Set a time in your schedule each day for exercise and do not cancel that meeting. Make the commitment to yourself to nourish your body with food and do not break that. Doing these things is actually an expression of showing myself love and care, and when I think of it that way, I absolutely want to follow through with daily exercise and great nutrition. I will never put myself on the backburner.
3. Step out of the box. I used to think that by being a young, divorced entrepreneur, I wasn’t allowed to have fun. I needed to be heads down and focused on getting my activewear company, Cove, off the ground. My boyfriend, LJ, invited me to Hawaii and I will always remember that as the trip that made me shift. I initially thought no way, I couldn’t spend the money, I couldn’t spend that much time with someone I was just getting to know, etc. I had a list of why “I couldn’t.” But…I went. And it was a game changer in so many ways. There is no better time to enjoy your life than RIGHT NOW.

We need to get out of our normal routine to spend time with family, friends and also just yourself. Go do things you want to do simply because you enjoy doing them. Even if you just want to go shop alone in Target (dream day), go do it! It’s OK to do something simply because you enjoy it. You are not put on this earth to just work and pay bills. Make sure you’re doing things that bring you joy! Good attracts good – and doing things that make you happy will bring you more joyful opportunities.

To recap, it is both OK and our responsibility to take care of ourselves. This world needs more positivity – and you can share that by taking care of yourself.

I would love to hear how you’re practicing self-care in your own life. Head to @WhatTheEffPodcast on Instagram and share in the comments to tell me what you’re doing – or create an Instagram story and tag @WhatTheEffPodcast so I can share it with the community.

Priming Challenge

A little reminder that I’m doing a five-day priming challenge beginning Monday, April 29th! You can sign up right here to join. I’ll be going live with you and teaching you my 15-minute priming routine. If you don’t know about priming, it’s an amazing way to remove negative chatter from your mind and can help you manifest what you want in life.

I’d also love to hear your own “What the Eff” moments! Email me at hello@whattheeffpodcast.com with the subject line “What the Eff moments.” I’d love to share your moments on the show, so email away!