The same is true in our day-to-day lives. If we don't take care of ourselves first, we will soon lose the capacity to help anyone else. I've seen incredible mothers who are constantly putting their children's needs ahead of their own. They keep telling themselves that one day they'll get to sleep at a decent hour, one day they'll have time to exercise and eat right, one day they'll be less stressed; and the problem is that all of that lack of sleep, lack of exercise, bad eating habits, and stress catch up to them and everyone starts to suffer.
Soon Worn-Out Mom finds that she's yelling at her kids over simple things that really shouldn't bother her. She snaps at her husband because she doesn't think he's helping out with the children enough. The increased level of stress is palpable in the home and everyone starts to feel it. The children start fighting amongst each other more. The husband grows more distant and tries to avoid the home and the family more and more. And all of these things make Worn-Out Mom have even more stress. And each night she wonders what more she can do for her children and her husband, she's giving them everything.
And that's the problem, Worn-Out Mom is giving them everything and has nothing left for herself. She is giving so much of herself that there is hardly anything of herself left. Worn-Out Mom is losing all of her oxygen...she's losing her life.
We all become like Worn-Out Mom at times. We have all been in situations where we keep trying to put the mask on someone or something else before we put it on ourselves. We might be trying to put it on our job, our spouse, our parents, our volunteer positions, our children, or all of those things all at once. But it doesn't matter what or who it is that you are giving all of yourself up for, it's time to stop.
It's time to stop giving up all of our oxygen and it's time to put that mask on ourselves first. Start making yourself a priority. It may seem selfish to make yourself a priority but it isn't, it's vital. Make time for sleep, exercise, meditation, eating right, relationships, and those long-forgotten hobbies. Start putting yourself in your schedule, literally write yourself down on your own calendar if you need to but make sure that you start giving yourself that much-needed oxygen.
And after you start taking care of yourself an amazing thing will happen, you'll start to feel as if you actually have a life. And, as a side bonus, you'll have more energy and enthusiasm to take care of all of those other things too. So strap on that mask and breathe deep.
