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I am on my desk, working on my homework, and I am tired. I take a deep breath, trying to muster all the energy I can to finish my work, despite wanting to go to bed so badly.
There are times when I don’t prioritize my health, where I lack so much sleep to finish the tasks that I need to do. When I am doing this repeatedly, this takes a toll on my body, mind, and soul, causing undue stress that I don’t need. Recently, I have reminded myself about the importance of putting yourself first; to take care of yourself even when you don’t think you need it.
Right now, I have been trying to do a better job of taking care of myself. To lead a more stress-free and learn how I can become the best version of myself.
When you are constantly feeling stressed, sometimes this can make you feel down and blue. For me, I found that when I feel overwhelmed, I begin to worry about everything. I overthink every single detail, thought, and action. It affects how I view things and sometimes makes me feel like nothing will get better, and I forget to be kind to myself.
From this experience, I learned that it is okay to feel overwhelmed, especially with everything that is going on at the moment. But what is not okay is letting those emotions get to you, accepting that you are your emotions; That you are not in control.
Yes, you may not always control how you would like to feel, but you are in control of who and how you want to approach the situation. However, what matters is how and what you do to deal with the situation.
For me, the first step to putting myself first is reflecting and trying to understand, asking myself why I am feeling this way, where this is stemming from, and what I can do to feel better. Next, I remind myself that what matters is growth and change, learning from all the highs and lows in my life.
When you try and understand your emotions, you put yourself first. You learn how to take care of yourself. You remind yourself that you are not your emotions or thoughts. It can help boost your confidence and make you feel good about yourself, even when you are down.
Admittedly, this is a rocky journey, and it will be hard. There will be times where you won’t recognize this immediately, where you find yourself getting into your emotions or even have a difficult time getting out of this headspace. As always, that’s okay. A loved one or a mental health expert can help you get out of this slump. They will always be there for you, to tell you that you are more than enough and to remind you that you will overcome this obstacle, at your own pace, and at your own time.
Putting yourself is not only about self-care or taking time to relieve yourself of stress. It is also about understanding who you are and figuring how you can move forward in life. When you do this, you don’t have to do this alone. Someone is always watching out for you somewhere in your corner, cheering you on no matter what happens in life.
But even if they will always be there for us, we should always be proud of ourselves. Every day we are evolving and learning new things about ourselves, progressing as individuals, and that is something worth celebrating.