Make Yourself a Priority

Rule number four for living a happy, healthy, lifestyle is to make yourself a priority. It may be hard to find the time to eat right, workout, and get enough rest, but in order to feel our best, physically, mentally, and emotionally, we must.

As a people pleaser, I find it hard to make myself a priority when it comes to living a happy, healthy lifestyle…especially now that I have two little ones. It’s easy to allow myself to get distracted by taking care of others rather than taking care of myself. But taking care of ourselves in order to take care of others is absolutely necessary.

Let’s Be Realistic

Although I’d like to tell you to make yourself the number one priority, I’m not going to try to convince you to do that…even though I want to– simply because, as the saying goes, “you can’t share from an empty cup.”

However, instead of using my time with you to press the issue of making yourself THE priority, I feel like I’ll be more effective if I just focus on helping you make yourself a priority.

Making yourself a priority does not make you selfish, it makes you important, which you are. You are important to your family and your friends…you are important to you.

Small Ways to Make it Happen

There are always going to be responsibilities and obligations in life that we cannot avoid, some of them we’ll do with joy and others with some reluctance, but it’s still possible to make yourself a priority.

• Take your lunch break
• Make time to eat breakfast in the morning
• Go for a walk during your child’s soccer game
• Enjoy a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate after the kids go to bed
• Take an online course to learn a new skill or more about your favorite subject
• Ask for help
• Get a pedicure, or go hit some golf balls one afternoon
• Find a hobby and do it, even if it’s in front of the TV while being near your partner
• Find a gym with childcare and go, even if it’s just to sit in the hot tub and relax for 30 minutes
• Make friends
• Pick the restaurant sometimes
• Be honest about your needs
• Buy, eat, and prepare foods you enjoy, even if no one else in your family will eat them with you

Making yourself a priority isn’t just about self-love, though that is a HUGE and very important part of it, it’s also about setting an example for others. When we make ourselves a priority, others will make us a priority too, which is good for them and for us!

When we respect our wants and needs as much as we respect others’ wants and needs, others will respect them too. If you feel pressured by people in your life who aren’t respecting you and your needs, it’s time to reevaluate those relationships. (More on that in Rule #9)

And don’t be a martyr. Seriously. The only one who loses in that scenario is you. Been there, done that. (I was also raised by one) It’s not productive for you or anyone you’re serving. Okay? <3

Follow all the rules for living a happy, healthy I’mperfect Life: The Rules