Have you always thought about choosing yourself first, but somehow it always manages to make its way to the bottom of your to-do list every day?
Well now is the perfect opportunity to move it up to the top of your list. In a world where everyone tries to be the best and do everything they can for others, it’s easy to forget about yourself.
But if you think about it, you should always put your needs before anyone else’s because without you, how are you going to take care of someone else? It’s just not possible.
Carve out at least half an hour out of your day to get you started or go for a specific day like a self care Sunday. Make a commitment to work on it every day no matter how small the act is.
Table of Contents
What Does It Mean To Choose Yourself First
So what does choosing yourself first really mean? Choosing yourself first is very important and is so necessary when it comes to self care.
To put yourself first means that you must be ready to believe that you’re entitled to and worthy of taking into consideration your entire well-being.
It means doing things that will make you happy and fulfilled even if those things aren’t beneficial to other people or don’t seem like they would benefit them in any way.
This includes Your own emotional needs, physical and mental health, and interests that are important to you and that you want to be involved in. These needs must be met for you to be effective at looking after yourself.
For example, some people might say that spending time on themselves isn’t important and that taking care of themselves doesn’t matter as long as they take care of their family or friends instead.
But this is actually not true because self-care matters a lot and not taking care of yourself will only result in negative consequences.
Related: What is self care
Choosing Yourself Is Not Selfish
Sometimes you might think that it’s selfish to choose yourself over others and can often be taken the wrong way but always choose yourself first.
While there are others that might be upset because you choose to make yourself a priority, don’t give that a second thought. It’s not selfish at all so there’s no need to apologize to anyone.
On the other hand, It would be really nice to have some family and friends in your corner who understand and support the whole idea to put yourself first.
The fact of the matter is, if you don’t put yourself first then when you’ll be overwhelmed and burn out, then it will be an uphill task for you to take care of others that need you.
The Importance Of Choosing Yourself
The truth of the matter is that you need energy as well as the mental clarity to do life and this is the winning formula for your way to the top.
You might find that you’re not meeting your targeted objectives in life because you’re so busy being occupied with taking care of others and neglecting yourself.
Of course, we want to love and be kind to others but at the same time, You have to invest time and energy to take care of yourself first, then you’ll have the capacity to take care of others that need you.
Hopefully, these reasons will help you to see the importance of choosing yourself first:
1. You’ll Be Able To Take Care Of Your Goals
When you choose yourself first, it helps you to make a plan that’s centered on precise measures or actions and the steps that you need to take with the intention to achieve your goals. When you’re organized and start taking action then you’re better prepared.
This way, you’ll be more productive because your focus and effort are centered around the realistic goals that you just know will be beneficial to you being more content and fulfilled.
2. Be More Self Confident
Building your self-confidence can sometimes seem like a tough assignment but the main thing is that you make yourself your number one priority.
Doing for others is all well and good but don’t feel that you need to totally sacrifice your time and energy to help others. Or, that how you value yourself hinges on the opinion of others.
You’re low on self-esteem because you’re not putting yourself first.
3. Set Better Boundaries
Life is full of so many demands and it can be really easy to get distracted from focusing on you. But an important step when it comes to taking care of yourself is that you have to make the time to take care of you.
There are many layers to putting yourself first and setting boundaries is one of them. Boundaries are where you draw the line as to what’s an acceptable limit and they can be mental or physical.
That is to say that you have to make yourself a priority and put these boundaries in place so that you’ll have enough time to care for yourself in the same way you would put out yourself to look after others.
Related: Personal boundaries and why we need them
4. You’ll Take Better Care Of Yourself
By putting yourself first, you’ll have enough time to focus on different aspects of your self care. I’m not saying that you should clear your entire schedule but whether physically, mentally emotionally, socially, or spiritually, you have to make time in your schedule to care for yourself.
Exercising and eating healthy helps boost your energy. While engaging in meditation getting proper sleep and journaling all help to put you in a better mood and frame of mind as well as help you to be more connected and present with your loved ones.
5. Maintain Better Health
If you’re always putting the needs of others before your own and you have no time for yourself then it could lead to bitterness and hostility and on top of that health issues.
When you make yourself a priority you’ll make the time to take care of the different aspects of your health: physical, mental, and emotional health.
Your body and mind are your prized possessions. From exercising, journaling, meditating eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep, these are all part of what help you to maintain better health.
If you turn a blind eye to your health it can be a challenging situation when it comes to being there for your family and friends physically, mentally, and emotionally.
6 Improve Your Relationships
Choosing yourself first helps your personal relationships to stay intact and there will be less exposed damage. This is because it helps you to take care care of yourself better and lowers your stress level, making you more happier and balanced.
This can cause you to form stronger connections with family and friends and helps you to be more involved and present with them.
All in all, it also means that you’ll be a more genuine person, more compassionate and understanding. This will allow you to have a lot more heartwarming and memorable moments because you’ll have a higher level of balance in your lifestyle.
7. You’ll Be Happier And More Fulfilled
When you take the time to put yourself first you will ease the tension of stress and anxiety. This in turn will make you happier and more fulfilled and this will spill over to the people with who you surround yourself.
So, it stands to reason that if you have a ton of commitments in life including people who count on you, then it’s critical that you make yourself a priority so that you can show up for yourself as well as for them.
Choosing Yourself Quotes
- The greatest courage you can ever possess is the courage of choosing yourself even when no one else is choosing you. -Dhiman
- Choose yourself before you choose someone else – Kalam e Jaya
- Whatever you do, please do not abandon yourself, not even in the name of love.
- It’s time to choose yourself first.
- You have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you want for yourself- Jamie McBride
- You have to choose yourself, even when others refuse to.
- Choose your happiness, Choose your well-being, Choose your passion, Choose yourself, every time
- This time, choose yourself.
- Choosing yourself first is never selfish. – Claire Vinson
- I am always the one who loves too much. Yes, this time I choose to love myself.
Conclusion On Choosing Yourself First
If you often don’t have to think twice about taking another project or ditching the gym for overtime. You might try to justify this with all types of reasons and excuses.
The truth is, only you can choose yourself first. only you know how to take care of yourself because no one else will value your life as much as you do.
This includes doing things like practicing self-care which might be different for everyone but could include yoga, meditation, staying hydrated with water (or herbal tea), and spending time outdoors during daylight hours when possible, you get the idea.
The point is not about what these activities are but rather the fact that you need to. Of course the harder you work, the greater the rewards and that may be true, but at what price? You have to strike a balance.
It’s time to change your way of thinking. If you keep mistreating yourself by overworking the body and brain, not getting enough rest or exercise, eating nutritious meals, and doing things that your body requires to function at its optimum, then you’re doing yourself a disservice
If your body is in an endless cycle of stress then it’s entirely harmful and damaging to your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Let’s face the truth, choosing yourself first is not an option. It’s a critical part of living a more happy, fulfilled balanced life.
Are you choosing yourself first? In what way? Comment below!
READ NEXT: Importance of having a balanced life
