Stop Being Selfish

You’re not selfish unless you’re NOT taking care of yourself.

Or the proper way to put it, you’re selfish if you’re NOT caring for you. 

It’s UNSELFISH to take care of you.

Yes, you read that right.

I think when we don’t care for our minds, our temples, our health, our safety, our faith...

That’s when we become the most selfish people.

Why do I think this?

Let me explain. 

But first, hear me out. I’m a selfish person.  I consistently ask for forgiveness for my self-seeking desires.  I am not here to judge or convict.  I am writing this post to serve, to bring some loving-honesty.

Here is part of the definition of selfish (adj); concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure.

Why do you overeat?  

One of the main reasons: to make yourself feel better in the moment. We are concerned with our pleasure.

We overeat to escape, check out of this world, feel better short term. We don’t like the emotions we are currently having (whether it be stress, frustration, overwhelm, etc.).

So, why not get a little dopamine hit from food?

But after we overeat, then we spin in thinking about how miserable we feel and how we have no control.  We avoid other people because we are ashamed.  Since we don’t feel good, we often spew these emotions out on the people around us (like our family).

Why don’t we take time to exercise?

We want to feel good in the moment for our personal gain. 

We don’t exercise to get more time to sleep, eat, binge on Netflix.

But, when we don't do what we promised ourselves we would do, then we spin in how we should be more productive, but we’re not.  We avoid interactions that require any physical aspect because we fear of how others might think of us.

Do you see how self-absorbed we become when we don’t take that time to care?  Do you understand how all we think about is our personal-gain and pleasure?

More time is spent on yourself (thinking, worrying, criticizing, avoiding), and we spend less time on others.

Here is the point:

When you don’t take care of yourself, you have less of yourself to give to others. 

Taking 30 minutes to exercise in the morning means a full day of clearer thinking for my clients.

Spending 5 extra minutes cutting up veggies rather than just opening up a bag of chips means more energy to spend playing with my kids.

Saying no to my immediate desires means not only saying yes to my future goals but also my family, friends, and community. 

It means saying to God, “Yes, I would rather take the easy way out, but I know you put me on this earth to love and serve.  So, no, thank you to the easy way. I’ll pick the uncomfortable in the short term for you, for me and for those who I serve along the way.”

Here’s the BEST part: Saying no to the quick comfort means saying yes to the LONG TERM, LASTING comfort. 

It means feeling confident in your skin and in who God made you.

It means the joy of living your purpose on this earth and serving more.

Are you struggling with feeling selfish taking time to care for yourself? Do you believe it will take time away from your family or your work?  Maybe you understand this intellectually, but you just can't seem to live it.

No problem.  Let me help you.  You can sign up for a FREE coaching consult HERE, and we can come up with an individualized plan for you.