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Putting yourself first means that it may be necessary to say no to someone else, in order to say yes to yourself. We have all heard the instructions of an airline attendant
reminding us to put on our own oxygen mask before we help anyone else with
theirs. This advice is often cited as a metaphor for self-care because it so
accurately expresses why it is important. It seems to say, ironically, that
if you can't take care of yourself for yourself, do it for others. Few
situations in our daily lives mimic the wake-up call of an airplane
emergency, so it's easy to keep putting self-care off -- easy, that is, until
we get sick, overwhelmed, or exhausted, and suddenly don't have the energy to
care for the people who count on us. That's when we realize we haven't been
getting the oxygen we need to sustain ourselves. We begin to understand that
taking care of ourselves is neither selfish nor indulgent; it's just plain
practical. |
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