What's #1 on your list of priorities?

There’s one thing that should ABSOLUTELY be a the top of priority list. It’s not your family, your job, or your long-term goals. Do you know what it is? It’s YOU! Your health, your emotional state, your needs, should be the #1 priority. Because – you can’t give what you don’t have! Are you giving your best self?

Ok, so how do we be great? Is it selflessly giving to others until we are drained and tired? Is it putting everyone else’s needs above our own until we have lost out connection to our own desires and passion? Absolutely not!

We know this, yet – so many people put “self-care” on the bottom of their daily to-do list. It becomes something like, "I’ll go to yoga if I have time." "Once I get the kids ready for the day, I may try to squeeze in a meditation." "Next week, I’ll reach out to my friends to see if they want to go to happy hour."

But look – what are the results of putting your needs last? I’ll tell you: stress, poor sleep, fogginess and weight gain. When we don’t make time for exercise, mindfulness and relaxation – we miss out on the incredible benefits they offer.

We all know that one person that we watch give and give and give yet only to be taken advantage of by others. Can you picture that person in your life? Honestly, it may be you. I had a friend that was so clear on her desires and goals – had the vision board and everything – yet consistently gave her time away to meeting other people’s needs, not working towards her own goals.

I get it – there’s a big difference between self-care and narcissism. Am I right? This is not that, but so many people associate self-care as a guilty pleasure. Taking time sit down a mindful eat your favorite snack while emails ding in your inbox seems self-indulgent.

But remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup! You can't give love, joy and inspiration to others if you don’t give it to yourself first. Compare these two days:

• Day A: you wake up and immediately jump out of bed to get yourself ready. You’re rushing, you eat a quick breakfast pastry out the door. You rush to work and jump straight into a day full of meetings and emails. When you come home, you’re exhausted, the kids are yelling, there’s tension between you and your partner. You can’t wait for bed.

• Or, Day B: You wake up to you alarm set early for a morning workout. Before you get out of bed, you make a mental list of 5 things that you are grateful for. After your workout, you do a quick 10 minute meditation on your patio. You hear the birds and the wind calmly blowing through the leaves. You get ready and plan time to sit and eat a healthy breakfast while catching up with your partner about their day. You get to the office (still with a full day of meetings and email) but does this day feel different? Do you feel more at people? How do you think your mental clarity is? How do you think your patience is?

That’s the kind of day I want you to have! Maybe that was only an extra 45 minutes of your day. So, here are 2 ways I want you to carve out time for self-care during this time of year:

1. Get up 1 hour earlier! I know, I know…but, mornings are the best time because it’s quiet. There’s pleasure in easing into your day.
2. Make a self-care plan that is SCHEDULED! Put that extra hour in your calendar and write out your plan for that hour. Maybe it’s exercising or some stretching. Maybe it’s reading or journaling. Maybe you want time for meditation and a nice shower. Plan it and have everything you need (like journals, books, workout clothes) ready to go.

If mornings aren’t your thing, or you really want to help morning habits stick, check out my video with tips to help you maximize your morning routine. You can find it on my blog, the here to be great guide, or my youtube channel.

If you want to know if you really are making self-care a priority, check out my fun quiz to discover your greatness score. You’ll find out if your habits are helping you build to a great life! Visit carisafindley.com/score.