It's OK To Choose Yourself First Sometimes

You shouldn't feel bad about putting yourself first.

Life can be pretty overwhelming at times, and it doesn't make it easier when you are trying to please everyone around you. Sometimes it gets to the point where you want to make sure everyone around you is OK that you forget to focus on yourself once in a while. I know this because that is what I do - on a daily basis. However, as I have entered my first year of college, I have realized now more than ever that I need to focus on myself once in a while.

I used to believe that putting myself first was selfish and that by not checking in on my friends every day I was being a shitty friend. Now I understand that if people leave due to you wanting to take care of yourself, then open the door for them on their way out. You don't need those type of people in your life, because real friends would want you to take care of yourself. If you go through life only doing things for others you are saying it's OK to put yourself last. But at the end of the day, the only person on this earth you need to take care of is yourself.

You have to make sure you are healthy; you have to make sure you are making a living for yourself; you have to make sure you are mentally stable; you have to make sure that you are happy. Only you. Thinking that choosing yourself makes you selfish is the farthest thing from the truth. If anything, choosing yourself is brave. Choosing yourself shows that you will not let what other people’s opinions of you affect your mindset. You know yourself better than anyone and you know what you need to do in order to maintain your well being.

The amount of stress people have to deal with these days is unbelievable. If you take even 30 minutes out of your day to focus on you, that could make all the difference in the world. Choosing yourself does not always mean going to have a spa day or sleeping in to watch Netflix. Choosing yourself could be reading instead of going out with friends. It could be eating your favorite food for lunch. It could be deleting social media. Every person has different methods of self-care that fit into his or her specific lifestyle. Choosing yourself could make all the difference in the world because it reminds you that you are important too.

Sometimes the world just gets a little too hectic at times, and you want to make sure everyone around you is OK, but you have to remember to make sure you're okay, too.