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How to Put Yourself First
As a kid I was taught that thinking about myself was selfish and that it was okay to pray to God and ask for something for someone else but it was a sin to ask for anything for myself.
I was also expected to take care of everyone else’s needs, but never learned how to take care of my own. My mom was sickly and by the age of nine I was an expert massage therapist and caregiver for her and my three little sisters. Fortunately my dad drew the line at having me cook, so my mom cooked and I cleaned up.
In high school things were a bit different. We had a maid and my mom got healthy. I went to school, came home and worked in my parent’s store and then did homework. I never watched television or visited with friends because I had no time for myself.
I was in my forties before I made peace with the fact that it was okay to take care of my own needs and okay to ask for what I wanted. The understanding finally came when I became too sick to function because I had pushed myself beyond human limits.
What I learned during that time was that my body needed rest, it needed good food and it needed a break from constant motion. I had been using every waking moment to take care of the needs of my very needy husband and our three businesses. Plus I had a teenager who fortunately wasn’t needy but he was my kid and I did take care of him.