Me First

Today, I challenge you to think about how you want to “show up” for the people in your life … 

How do you want to “show up” for your kids?

How do you want to “show up” for your spouse?

How do you want to “show up” in your job?

How do you want to “show up” for yourself?

I ask you this because how you “show up” matters!

It matters to the people around you.

And it contributes significantly to the quality of your life. 

Do you show up distracted? Worried? Overwhelmed?

Are you tired all of the time?

Are you constantly frustrated, irritated, or annoyed?

Are YOU okay?

I ask this, because if YOU are not okay, it can be hard for the people around you to be okay.

A few months ago, as I’ve shared before, I had enough of how I was “showing up” as a mother and as a wife … when I took a good close look at where I was, I didn’t like what I saw … 

So I made a choice to make a change …

And, now, I am committed to showing up for the people around me every day as the absolute best version of me that I can be … 

Am I perfect? Of course not!

I still struggle to sit down and play with my three-year-old. 

I tease instead of showing compassion or understanding. 

I “escape” from the boring parts of child-rearing.

I have yet to adopt a consistent practice in which I spend one-on-one time with each of my children. 

I get hyper-focused on something and I can’t “snap out of it.”

But, for the most part, I’m happy with how I am showing up for my family each day … how I am showing up for my husband … how I am showing up for the students and families that I serve as a teacher … and how I am showing up for my readers and followers of Our Life Well Lived … 

But, guess what??? And here’s the real kicker … go ahead and let this one sink in a minute … 

THERE IS NO WAY I COULD SHOW UP FOR EVERYONE ELSE, if I didn’t SHOW UP for ME FIRST.

That’s right … ME FIRST!

What does this mean?

Well, this means a lot of things … 

It means getting up in the morning LONG before everyone else (I’m usually up between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m.).

It means reading and learning new things EVERY DAY. 

It means taking a couple of minutes each morning to read a piece from the bible.

It means a regular tapping and mindfulness routine.

It means drinking lots of water … and taking my vitamins.

It means daily exercise (but nothing crazy … just 15-20 minutes a day, preferably OUTSIDE). 

It (sometimes) means a ten-minute lunch break or afternoon nap.

It means limited sugar intake (just a couple small treats a day).

It means taking the time to fix my hair and makeup for work each day (even though I work in my basement).

It means clear work boundaries.

It means setting up routines and checklists that make my daily to-do’s more manageable.

It means sitting down to make plans for the things that are important (like the upcoming Christmas season, for example). 

It means setting intentions for the week each week (this is a fairly new “process” for me, so it definitely has not been perfected yet).

It means taking time to do the things I love (at least a little bit every day) like writing or getting creative in some way.

It means maximizing the “fringe” moments … those “extra” minutes here and there that present themselves. 

It means setting goals and sticking to them (some of these I find easy … some are definitely harder).

It means getting to sleep each night by 10 p.m. (this is another one I’m still working on). 

It means jotting down at least three things I am grateful for before I go to sleep each night (there’s usually far more than three). 

It means hiring someone to do the energy-sucking things I really dislike.

So it looks like ME FIRST means a lot of things actually! 

It is A LOT … but it’s ALL super important … and it allows me to show up in the way that I want to for the people around me each day.

Looking back, this has been years in the making (and as I already said, I’m still very much a work in progress) … 

Please don’t get discouraged … 

Take a minute to think about what you do DO for you already, then work from there … 

Think about what’s next for you … and how you want to show up for the people around you … 

I’ve definitely been in seasons of survival where all of this didn’t (or couldn’t) happen … if this is where you are, just pick ONE thing you could start working on TODAY to take care of YOU … 

As the cliche goes, NO ONE can POUR FROM AN EMPTY CUP. 

Now go … get going on your own version of “ME FIRST” today! 

Here are my Me First: Worksheets in PDF Format (just download, print, and complete).

You might want to check out the Me First: Worksheets post first though.