Even though it may feel like it
I am someone who always has the intention to take care of the people around me before taking care of myself. Seeing other people happy just makes me happy. It has been ingrained in me since I was a small kid to think about others. I took this value to a whole new level because I felt all of the emotions that other people felt. It’s the one quality that serves as both a blessing and a curse. I was so used to living my life this way that I didn’t realize the harm that it was causing me as a result.
I was so involved in the emotions of others that I was not putting my mental health and wellbeing as a priority in my life. Recently, it caught up to me.
There comes a point when you need to protect your peace. Protecting your peace means caring for your overall health, including mental, spiritual and physical. It is a necessary part of everyone’s life. Taking care of yourself first allows you to take care of others. It provides you the foundation to support the people in your life without burning yourself out.
I know it’s easier said than done. Finding time for yourself in a constantly moving world seems nearly impossible when you are always on autopilot. It can be as simple as a five-minute meditation to start and end the day, taking a yoga class whenever you have time (my personal favorite), or even reading a book for fun in a cool coffee shop.
Putting up boundaries is essential to protecting your peace. These barriers prevent you from making mistakes you might later regret while maintaining strong relationships in the long run. These barriers serve as your protection, especially against those who may want to destroy your peace. It is a hard decision to put up these protections, but it is overall beneficial to you and those that play a part in your life.
It’s similar to the saying, “You can’t love someone else before you love yourself.” You can’t be there for someone else before you are there for yourself.
There comes a point when you need to protect your peace. If you are in a hectic headspace, you can put more negativity into your space. When you protect your own peace, you can interact with the world from a place of more patience, compassion and kindness and, in the end, more peace. That cycle is something that the world could use more of for all of us.