Taking Care of Yourself First Makes You a Better Person

As women (and moms), we’re really good at taking care of others while neglecting ourselves. But did you know that this habit can actually work against you as you strive to be your best? You can’t fill the cups of others if you’re running on empty. Taking care of yourself first makes you a better person.
 

Happiness is an inside job. Your happiness level and feelings of confidence and peace make all the difference in the world when it comes to relating to others.

Here’s an important principle to remember: Thoughts become emotions become actions and things. Put another way: we create our own realities with our minds. Let me explain:
 

Our level of contentment and happiness is fueled by our thoughts. We all, of course, have both negative and positive thoughts. Those thoughts that get the most of our attention will dominate and grow. 

Worry about being “fat” or out of shape? Notice how those thoughts lead to more thoughts of food and how easy it is to then load up on comfort food to feel better? The thoughts of feeling fat lead to negative emotions. Negative emotions lead to actions that fulfill the prophecy we just accidentally made about ourselves.
 

When we think negative thoughts about ourselves, our life, or our family, we create mental monsters. These monsters suck joy out of our lives and attract more negative thoughts and negative responses from those around us. For example, if we expect our kids to behave poorly, we look for things that fulfill our expectations. And yes, our kids readily comply.
 

In contrast, when we think positive and empowering thoughts, we attract more of them and notice more positive behavior form our kids, we feel better about ourselves, and attract more positive feelings in our relationships. Rather than creating mental monsters, we create feelings of confidence and motivation. We live life with joy, and we and those around us, pick up on this uplifting attitude and expectations, and life gets better. 
 

This premise of attraction, more commonly known as the Law of Attraction, is widely confirmed by Eastern religions and practical experience but also confirmed by the Bible, which states the power of thoughts as well as words, and tells us to meditate on things that are good, and positive, and that will bring joy and encouragement to others. It also warns against negative thoughts, such as murder in your heart .  
 

Take the Happy and Healthy Challenge: for one week,

1. Every morning, state three things you’re grateful for.
2. When you look in the mirror, say something nice about yourself.
3. Check yourself when you are about to think (or say) something negative. STOP. Replace it with a positive thought or statement instead.
4. Do some type of physical activity that makes you feel good. Even if it is just for 5 minutes.
5. At bedtime, let your final thought of the day be about things you can think of with gratitude-no matter how simple they may be. Celebrate your successes.
    

Remember though. Taking care of yourself first makes you a better person. It’s not selfish to be self-caring. Done consistently, this will make a HUGE difference in your level of happiness and contentment, which will be reflected in your actions, your attitude, and the way people respond to you. Pinky promise that it will make a positive difference in your life and family! Even if you’ve tried everything to attract happiness and health into your life, and are still battling feelings of inadequacies and emotional eating, my Transform from Within Personal Online Coaching might be just the thing for you!