Amid Life’s Busy Demands, Are You Making Time For Yourself?
Jodi Davis
| 3 min read
Have you ever stopped for a moment to really think about where you put yourself on life’s priority list?
I’m asking you this question because I’ve been listening to conversations between two or more women these past couple days and I can’t help but notice that the majority of them seem to put themselves last on their own priority list. These women talk about all the things and people in their lives that they need to take care of, making sure to give top priority to each, but seem to forget one of the most important of all: themselves.
The Wrong Priorities
I don’t know why many of us are like this, but for some reason we feel the need to take care of everything and everybody else first. We are frequently forgetting — and oftentimes consciously avoiding taking care of our own personal needs. I’ll be perfectly honest here: Many women feel as though everything and everyone else in the family should come first, thus intentionally putting ourselves last on the priority list. Do you know any of these women? Are you one of them?
I was once one of these women, as I always put everyone’s needs before mine, not taking the time or the effort to actually take care of me. Oh sure, I was very proud to know that I did a great job taking care of my three children and kept a spotless home. I enjoyed having a well-groomed yard, handling all of our finances, volunteering for numerous school functions along with many other things, but I didn’t take care of me.
Ever since the day I was married, I felt as though cleaning the house and taking care of everything else was much more important than taking care of any of my needs, especially my health. I used the excuse that I just “didn’t have time” to stop me from ever exercising on a daily basis. I didn’t feel that I should take care of me first… I was at the bottom of my own life’s priority list.
There is another woman in my family who did the exact same thing. She always put her entire family first, making sure that all of their needs were taken care and ignoring her own. The car, the yard, the house, the laundry, etc. were always placed at the top of the priority list too; she put everyone and everything at the top — she remained at the bottom.
On the day of her heart attack — one that was totally unexpected because she assumed she was in perfect health — the ambulance rushed to her home. The emergency medical technicians quickly ran inside to help her. The house was spotlessly clean. Who cares? I mean, really… did the EMTs care about how shiny the windows were, whether there were no dirty dishes in the sink or if the beds were made? No, they only cared about her life… now she was finally put on the top of the priority list, by someone else!
Put It In Perspective
Yes, she should have put herself there years ago; but she refused to and was suffering the consequences. She almost died from the heart attack. That day her life’s priorities list changed.
I want to stress to all the amazing women who are reading this today: PLEASE stop putting yourself last on the priority list! You DESERVE to be at the TOP, remember that. The more you take care of yourself, the better you will feel and the happier you will become… that is a promise!
Today is the perfect day to begin — it’s time to take care of the one life, one body, one heart you were given. Start by taking a half-hour walk. It will give you time to think and alleviate stress along with allowing you to receive some much needed daily exercise. The dishes can wait — now go!
Photo by popofatticus
