You are the most significant person in your life. When a serious accident suddenly occurs on an airplane at high altitude, the cabin is depressurized. In this case, the passengers have only 15–20 seconds left to save their own lives by wearing an oxygen mask.
Flight attendants always warn that the mask should be put on first on oneself, and only then to help others. If you do not have time to protect yourself in the allotted time, you will lose consciousness and die.
Your chances of helping your family and loved ones survive will considerably improve if you prioritize taking care of yourself first. If you try to save them first, chances are good that no one will survive at all.
Here it is not about heroism but ordinary common sense. For example, your child may start asking questions about what's going on around, why wear a mask at all, why is it hanging from the ceiling, why is it the same color, and so on. If he sees that the mask is already on you, he will most likely repeat the same thing.
Also read: 13 Things Strong-Minded People Never Do
Or imagine a different situation; to keep yourself in good shape, you regularly visit the gym. Suddenly, your loved one ends up in the hospital with a serious injury, and you give up all your affairs to be with him. You take care of the patient, devoting all your free time to him, and forgetting to take care of your health too.
For all those months while your loved one is fighting the disease, you manage to lose weight beyond recognition, destroy your stomach from frequent dry water, and in addition to that, you experience constant nervous tension.
Between being overprotective and merely being helpful, there is a thin line. Sometimes we care about someone else just because we are afraid to be alone with ourselves.
In addition to switching to others' problems in the hope of escaping from our own, people often fall into the other extreme - workaholism. How tempting it is to go headlong into work and not notice anything around! Yes, this is often very pleasant, especially for those who are really passionate about their work.
We take overtime, stay up late in the office, start working on weekends, agree to replace a sick colleague so that we are too busy to accomplish anything else. Do you feel that something is unclear here? The way it is. We try to hide from problems that we don't want to deal with. From those problems that are really important. From their own problems.
If you are tired of being inactive, hiding from difficulties, and taking care of everyone but yourself, remember a few basic rules.
Read also: How to Benefit from Meditation: Tips from a Buddhist Monk.
- Do the things that make you happy and enjoyable every day. Go to the gym if you like it. Read books. Sing, paint, eat sweets. All these small rewards can help you avoid burnout. If you are a creative or a public person who constantly does something for others, then do something that will benefit only you and no one else.
- Take care of yourself. Expand your horizons, finally figure out what you want from this life, what goal you strive for. Understand that no one but you can do this. Stop neglecting your interests and find your source of inspiration. For example, check out the biography of someone you consider worthy of imitation and praise.
- Learn to pause and stop overworking. Give your brain some breathing space, during which you can not think about anything. Yoga or meditation can be of great help here.
We cannot share with others what we ourselves do not have.
Whitney Cummings, American screenwriter and producer
It is much easier to give friends and loved ones, joy, support, and inspiration when they are within ourselves. You must first care for yourself because of this.
Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff
Sources: Life hacker
