What are two ways you can look after yourself better?
I choose to work with people who want to make changes in their lives. Sometimes that’s about improving their current position from strong to stronger, and sometimes that’s about taking an area of life that they’re unhappy with and helping them improve it. I’m very aware that if I want to be resourceful for my clients, some of whom are very unhappy when they first walk through my door, as well as being there for my family and friends, I need to be in a good place myself.
A lot of people feel like it’s wrong to put themselves first or that it’s selfish to look out for number one. I think these things are not wrong, nor bad, but completely necessary, as looking after yourself enables you to look after others so much more effectively. Looking after ourselves doesn’t mean doing things to the exclusion of others, or not taking others into account. In contrast, to me, looking after yourself simply means taking a number of small actions that enable us to be our best. This could include things like eating well, taking walks on the beach, spending time with people we enjoy, reading or watching movies. All of these things add to our sense of wellbeing which increases our resourcefulness and ability to cope with things in our lives as well support others. Where we don’t do these things, we can become depleted, and our ability to be good for the people in our lives and in the tasks we do can become compromised.
Whenever we fly, we are told that if the oxygen masks are to ever drop down in front of us, we should put on our own masks first before helping those around us. To me, this sentence needs a slight adjustment: we should put on our own masks first so we can help those around us. The people in our lives are so incredibly important, and the more we take care of ourselves, the more we can have a positive influence on those around us.
It’s now 2015; a new year, a new opportunity to change our lives for the better. In what ways do you want to be happy, strong and resourceful in your own life and for the people around you this year? In order to do that, what actions would you love to take to look after yourself so you can fulfill those actions to the best of your ability?
