Being Selfish to Avoid Burnout

<p>Many people are facing a hard realization right now: “If I don’t learn how to take care of myself, <strong>I will burn out.</strong>”</p><p>It’s true. You cannot dedicate yourself to creating the life you want, contributing to and changing the world… and then ignore your own bodily, mental and spiritual needs. Because that’s what causes self-combustion. And then you’re not helping yourself, let alone anyone else.</p><p>In reality, it’s a balancing act – in order to show up for others in your fullest capacity, you must first learn to nourish yourself so that you CAN show up, and show up well. </p><p>When people ask me how I do so much – my multiple graduate degrees, traveling for months out of the year, the business, the mommy daughter days…yoga, meditation, and all my other multipassions, I always tell them that a huge part of it is I know how to take care of myself and I prioritize it.</p><p>I know how to work hard and how to play hard and how to make sure my body and mind and spirit can deal with all the things I take on.</p><p>When I talk about my self care to people outside of the coaching industry (because most coaches already know how important this is), I often get, “Well isn’t all this self-care kind of …selfish? Isn’t it just all about <i>you you you</i>?”</p><p>Here’s the thing – being “selfish” is almost always considered something negative in this society. By definition, it means “to put one’s needs and desires before other people’s.” </p><p>But, wait…could being ‘selfish’ in this way also produce <strong>positive </strong>results at times?</p><p>I invite you to search for the grain of truth in this. Because you <strong>have </strong>to know what you need to be able to operate in the world most effectively. You have to know yourself, how your mind works. Your strengths. How to keep the engine running.</p><p>From that place, you will have so much more to offer the world – and you’ll be able to take action from a much more skillful place.</p><p>Learning to give from a full cup </p><p>When we learn to