Learn To Think About Yourself: Prioritizing Is Also Health
It is time to learn to think of yourself; Doing so will make you gain in psychological health and also in happiness. Thus, and as much as they have made us believe, appreciate and give us the importance we deserve, it is not an act of selfishness. In fact, those who choose to be diluted in the needs of others, forgetting themselves, lose value and the boost of self-esteem.
In the work Alcíabes I , attributed to Plato, we are told about an interesting dialogue between Socrates and his students where we are urged to do something very important: take care of ourselves.
Now, this conception of “care” goes far beyond mere attention to the body or physical health. The Greek philosopher spoke, above all, of the need to know oneself, to realize oneself as a person, to reach the ideal state of being.
Achieving this personal goal seems increasingly difficult. Furthermore, something that we have been observing from the field of psychology is that people’s needs have become more complex over time.
An example, between the 60s and 80s, one of the most common problems of the population was the classic identity crisis. Knowing who I am and what I want were the questions that needed answers.
Today things go a little further. We live in times of uncertainty, of instability, of losing today what we took for granted … All this causes that, in addition to wondering who we are, we are almost always in “survival mode”, without knowing what to expect or how to react to adversity.
Hence the anxiety, hence the stress and above all, that central problem that many minds orbit: the lack of self-esteem. Prioritizing ourselves, thinking a little more about ourselves to strengthen values, clarify priorities and empower self-concepts will be of great help to us.
Keys to learning to think of yourself
Sociologists point out that we live in an increasingly individualized, atomized world, where, in turn, we enjoy greater capacity for movement, action and choice. However, in the midst of this context and lifestyle, satisfaction is not always present. What’s more, unhappiness and a feeling of emptiness continue to be recurring dimensions.
There are many causes that explain and structure such a reality, but one of them is the inability to value ourselves as we deserve. This supposed individuality seems to have a double edge, because we are still very subject to fashions, to what society sets us and also to the expectations of others.
Likewise, affective relationships based on dependency also abound and in turn, that custom so much ours to prioritize others over ourselves. Being a supporting actor in the theater of life has consequences. Sooner or later a day comes when we look at ourselves in the mirror and we don’t like what we see.
We do not like the person in front of us because we do not identify with him. It is therefore time to learn to think of yourself. These are the keys.
Physical and mental rest
When we carry so many responsibilities on our shoulders, when we have spent several years prioritizing others, we notice it: exhaustion appears, both mentally and physically. What these types of situations do is drain our energy, encouragement and motivation.
No one can be useful to others under these conditions, and even less to himself. For this reason, it is vital that we allow ourselves a time of rest, and for this, we can start with a couple of days to ourselves where we regain strength and reorder thoughts. Later, it is also necessary that in each of our days we dedicate a couple of hours to ourselves.
Those moments of solitude connect us with our identity and personal needs.
Do what you love, your passions also take priority
To learn to think about yourself, remember something important: what you are passionate about defines you. So, do not put it aside to serve others, to be part of the hobbies of that couple, that family or those friends. Position yourself, because when you do what you like you are inspired, you regain energy, you give your best and even more so, your whole being is in balance.
If you have a pending dream, focus on it. If you have hobbies, do not relegate them, make each day worthwhile by doing at some point something that goes with you, something that makes you feel fulfilled.
Life is not just “doing things.” “Feel” is also important
We spend our lives doing things. You go, you come from work, you go shopping, you run errands, you eat, you sleep, you plan… Now, in the midst of these daily dynamics, where are the sensations, the good emotions, the feelings? To learn to think about yourself you must be clear about one aspect: stopping to be, feel and be is also a priority.
Now doing and feeling are not mutually exclusive. The secret is to ensure that a large part of the things we do throughout the day are satisfactory for you. Ideal if your work responsibilities are motivating and also help you to grow as a person, fulfilling goals.
It is also necessary that the time that you share with those around you, also be of quality. Otherwise, if life with that partner, friends, family or work colleagues does not satisfy you and brings you more without flavors than pleasures, you will be investing in unhappiness.
Strengthen your self-esteem and you will be able to think of yourself
Who learns to think about himself and prioritize when necessary, is someone who works every day on the muscle of self-esteem. Because if we manage to perceive ourselves in a positive way, if we feel valuable, brave and with sufficient resources to face challenges and achieve dreams, our psychological reality changes and we reach fulfillment.
Self-esteem is that core that feeds everything, that nurtures everything. It is the magma of our identity and those roots that make our ability to achieve goals flourish. Therefore, how we feel will depend a lot on how we feed it.
Feeling ourselves protagonists in the movie of our lives will allow us to move forward with greater integrity, tuning values with behaviors, thoughts with words, desires with realities. Let us work on these aspects indicated here on a daily basis.
