4 Behaviors Preventing You From Putting Yourself First
by Troop Atomic Mommy
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Putting yourself first is extremely important. Yet for so many of us, we do not practice this simple level of self care. In order to truly provide self care, you must be selfish enough to care for your own well-being and mindset. While this is the single most important step you must take to have a happy life, many see this step as a negative attribute rather than a positive one. And so, self care and self love are often the things most certainly left for the latter part of life. But when living this way becomes unhealthy for the mind and soul, the body begins to feel the adverse affects such as over-exertion, undue stress, illness, and fatigue. Now is the time to change that. In this article, learn 4 behaviors preventing you from putting yourself first.
#1 You try to please the people you love instead of yourself.
Family and friends are the ones who are supposed to love you the most. When that love turns into expectations that you cannot meet, then you are no longer experiencing contentment, only pressure. Think of how good the love of your family has felt in the past. By contrast, if you are stressed and pressured into becoming someone you aren’t, then you could become resentful with everyone and yourself. Try to let go of the notion of pleasing everyone else around you. If you start to do this, you will see the rest of your life improve.
#2 You’ve stopped enjoying the moments in your life.
If you are overworked then you probably suffer with anxiety. This is when everything feels like a chore. Even the good times, such as having dinner plans with your friends or even reading a book becomes, hard. Why? Because you need a break. If you are suffering from burnout, then it is your positive energy being spent on survival, rather than providing joy. For these reasons, you have to remove the activities from your life that do not provide happiness and begin adding things into your life that do.
#3 No matter how much you’ve gotten done, your to-do list never ends.
If you continue to add things to your to-do list, then your list will never stop growing. This ultimately leads to over-exhaustion because rather than knowing when to take a break, your brain pushes you harder. And this leads to negative thoughts, draining fatigue, body aches, and mood swings. This is your body going into survival mode and this can exacerbate your burnout cycle and stress. Learn to stop, rest, and just breathe. Tomorrow is another day to start back on your list.
#4 You ignore your medical needs because you have other important stuff to do.
Not putting yourself first can cause a major impact on your health. Perhaps you are the type of person who puts off seeing your doctor or dentist. And if this sounds like you, then you’re probably walking around with undiagnosed health concerns. This doesn’t have to be the life you live. Start living a healthier life so you can live a happier one. And it starts by setting that doctor’s appointment for a physical and setting the dental appointment so you can chat about those dental implants for the bad teeth you’ve been thinking on for years. Maybe it’s finding a yoga studio to stretch out your grievances with life. Whatever your choice is, start by making the first choice of checking on your health and being happier.
The Takeaway
By putting yourself first, and making decisions that help you become the best version of yourself, you will certainly make the most out of every day, and this will impact you positively, overall.
