I know your type. I can relate to you oh so well. Parts of you are in me. And if you are obese or heading there you are the type of person that will die early.
You have the ‘gift of giving’. You always say yes when it comes to giving of yourself.
Your job: Whenever they ask, you say yes. You give to your employer and your co-workers everything that you have. You probably look at it as part job, part ministry.
Your church: Whatever they ask, you say yes. You give to your church more than to the job. Not in time but in commitment. You can’t say no to whatever you’re asked to do. Even when it is inconvenient or downright intrusive on you and your family.
You say yes to your immediate and extended family just the same. Handling the cooking and cleaning and maybe even helping with the homework (although your spouse may do some of this which is a great help).
At the end of the day the one person you never say yes to is yourself. Outside of the regular hair or nail appointment you never take time for yourself. Doing so would mean saying no to other people. And you can’t do that. People need you.
Your esteem is actually slightly built up by the fact that others need you. So you fool yourself into believing that people can’t manage without you. You’re health shows it. You’re overweight. Seriously overweight. You’re pre-diabetic. Bad back and knees. High blood pressure.
And from my perspective you are right. They do need you. But. They will manage without you. Just wait until you’re dead and watch them manage without you. Sure they will remember you on a couple special days per year and may even bring flowers to your grave site. But trust me, in the end, they will manage without you.
So here is the deal. You are such a blessing to everyone that you need to be somewhat selfish for yourself now! Why? Because having you around longer is better than not.
Consider this hierarchy:
1st – God
2nd – Me
3rd – Family Work Church
If you don’t take care of yourself there is going to be less of you to give to your family, work, church or other charitable or social networks. You should come before nearly everyone else.
Now take some time for yourself daily. Here is a good starting point: HealthyWage, which provides health incentives for everyone. Incentives make accountability fun, and studies show that incentives increase your odds of success. Check it out! And keep up the good work!
This article was re-printed from a blog post over at www.WinningMan.com.
