It's easy to get lost in the minutiae of life. It is easy to lose yourself in mundane, every day tasks and forget that you are a miracle. We view our children as miracles, yet as we get older we forget that we were once those children. Our parents once viewed us the miracles in their lives, and they probably still do.
Do you view yourself as a miracle in your own life? I know I don't. I have a whole complex where I put other people's needs first and then wonder why my own needs are not being met. It's something I am working on. Do you make yourself your own first priority? Odds are I would bet you view your children as your first priority. But, if something happened to you, it would hit them i the most profound way possible. So do you not at least owe it to your children, and yourself, to make YOU your top priority. You are teaching them self-esteem, self-confidence and independence. You are showing them how to treat themselves. When your children see mommy or daddy taking care of themselves first, they learn they too have to care for themselves first and foremost.
This will help your children not find themselves in abusive relationships, co-dependent relationships, or unhappy situations in general. Your children will grow up loving themselves too much to allow anyone to take advantage of them, or treat them with disdain. Your children will see their own value, early on, and be able to confidently go into the world and know exactly what they want and how to get it.
All that simply by making YOU a priority. Is that not a powerful feeling? You have the capacity to change your own life, and your children's simply by taking the best care of YOU that you can. Why oh why do we all not jump on this bandwagon?! Because we were taught somewhere along the way that this is selfish. We were convinced that selfish behavior is ALWAYS bad. There are some positive aspects to some selfish behavior.
Being selfish is okay when it does not come at the expense of others. You can have a spa day as long as your bills are paid, and your kids are cared for first. You can go on vacation as long as the mortgage payment is on time and you have food in the fridge. Your selfish behavior has to match what your abilities are first. If you can only swing a self-manicure due to money being tight because you are a one income family, then you find the joy in that. You allow yourself the pampering and care that your life can support.
If you cannot afford to join a gym, find some stairs to run up and down, do push-ups and crunches, or jump rope. But take care of yourself! We have to balance taking care of ourselves, and making ourselves our first priority with what we can realistically afford monetarily, emotionally and mentally.
The lessons your children will learn are invaluable, and all you have to do is make yourself your first priority. It is a win-win situation.
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