You are a limited edition. Act like it.

You are 1 of 1.

A limited edition.

So why don’t you (or I, or anyone else for that matter) act like it?

I was on the verge of burning out last week.

I didn’t want to get out of bed. I was tired every day. I couldn’t find the deep focus that I need to do parts of my work. So what did I do?

Beat myself up about it. Of course!

Why do we do this?

We are taught to show up for other people well before we show up for ourselves.

We run ourselves ragged making sure the work is done, the kids are taken care of, our friends are happy.

But we don’t take the time to take care of ourselves first. I think it’s because we are taught to value others over ourselves.

Putting yourself first feels selfish. And sometimes it looks selfish, too. But we have to do it anyway—and we have to give grace to others when we recognize them doing the same thing.

Here are a few ways you could consider putting yourself first this week:

Did you make too many plans? Consider canceling one of them. Being too tired to be fully present is absolutely a valid reason to cancel plans.

Also remember that you don’t have to give reasons. (I always have a tough time with this one. I want to give a reason, but if you over-explain it starts to sound like an excuse. Anyone else?)

Get some extra sleep. Since I started wearing a Whoop strap, I found that when I thought I was sleeping 8 hours, it was truly closer to 7. So, how long do you really need to be in bed to get the sleep that you need?

Finally, find just one way to show up for yourself. Maybe your kids get an extra hour of screen time so you can sit in the tub and read, or take a nap. So what. No one is perfect, and you don’t have to try to be either.

You know the saying…

You can’t pour from an empty cup.

At some point, we must actually believe it.
❤️