Why It Is Important To Take Care Of Yourself

Have you ever been on a plane? If so, you probably received some instructions regarding how to behave if an emergency arises and the plane loses pressure. You are supposed to make sure you have your own oxygen mask on before helping another person with theirs. The truth that this reveals is that if you are not taking care of yourself, you will not be able to help others very well.

I am a fitness instructor and I talk to a lot of people about their fitness. Sometimes it is hard, because when I ask people the questions, “How did you get out of shape?” the answers often have to do with the fact that they have not taken care of themselves.

However, it should be obvious that you will not have the ability to assist others unless you have spent some time and energy helping yourself. I frequently ask people a couple of questions. These questions are, “In what ways are you investing in yourself?” and “In what ways are you investing in other people?” The point is, it is very difficult to invest is people if you have not also made it a priority to invest in yourself.

If you have children, you may think that you have to put your own health and goals on hold. Do you feel like you must take care of your children at the expense of taking care of you? This is not an uncommon thought, but you cannot give to someone else what you do not have.

There is a startling epidemic of childhood obesity in our country. One of the reasons for this is the fact that many parents are not taking care of themselves. They are practicing bad habits and are inadvertently teaching their children to also not take care of themselves. Do parents really want their children living unhealthy lives?

Sometimes we need to look hard in the mirror and take responsibility for where we are and what we are teaching. If you do nothing today but make the decision to start eating breakfast, get a 25- minute workout in and upgrade your life because you value it and believe your kids should see you at your best–well then we can rest our heads peacefully tonight.

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