Permission to Meet Your Needs First

Today I know I want to write and having so much going on that I don't know what to write about.  My mind has been whirling lately which matches the emotional overload I'm on.  Each day the items I need to work on get bigger or the list gets longer. Waking up in the morning and getting out of bed gets more difficult.  If I stay in bed, I can't be found and nothing else can be added.  Staying in bed also means nothing gets done and those items on the list don't go away and my stress level remains high.

So it's get out of bed, look at what's happening, and check-in with myself.  How much energy do I have today?  What small thing can I do with that energy and feel that I have made the day worthwhile?  What can wait?  What can't wait?  The most difficult question for me to answer yes to, does the first thing on my list benefit my well-being?

I'm proud of myself in that I have moved myself from the bottom of the list to number 3 or 4.  I actually had someone send me a permission slip so I could be all right with my needs being number one and to also see that placing my needs first was all right with someone else.  Don't get me wrong, placing me #1 isn't about becoming self-centered and believing that the world and the universe need to rotate around me.  It's about finding and maintaining my inner strength and balance.  It's about not pushing so hard that I'm emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted.  It's so that I'm not so overwhelmed that all I want to do is pull the covers over my head for the next few weeks.

I am thankful that many of the people who are a part of my life now are okay with giving me that permission slip.  I'm also thankful that I'm getting better at using that permission slip.  So take a look around you when life seems to be too much and hiding under the covers sounds like the best idea.  Who are the people you are surrounded by - those who will give you a permission slip or those who believe the world serves them?  And if it helps to move you up that list a little bit, I give you permission to make your needs #1 today.

Take care,  Sue