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My Musings on …..The Importance of Being Positively Selfish

by Jenny Grainger

What have you done for YOU today?

What time and space have you created just for YOU?

What treats have you given yourself?

  What fun and pleasure have YOU had today?

One of the most powerful ideas I came across as I made some positive change to my life a few years ago was the concept of being Positively Selfish.

I like to imagine that each of us carries with us a big tank with a tap attached to it. 

You start each day off with a full tank of love and energy. 

Each time you do something for someone else

(whether it be your kids, your partner, your boss, your family or your friends)

the tap is turned on and a little of that wonderful love and energy pours out of the tank. 

So, drop by drop, your tank starts to drain.

How often do you find yourself completely mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted

or ‘drained’ at the end of the day?  How does that affect your mood? 

How does it affect the way you react to those around you? 

Most of us become tired, irritable and short-tempered as well as being frustrated and resentful at times. 

Many of us were brought up to believe that we should always put others first. 

However, in reality, it becomes very hard to do that if you continue to put YOU last

and your tank is running on empty all the time.

Being Positively Selfish means that you consciously take a little time each day to spend on YOU. 

This can mean putting aside half an hour to spend on a hobby, go for a walk, read, meditate

or whatever it is that helps you to relax and re-energise. 

Or, it could mean taking up an evening class, spending more time with friends, joining a club or a gym. 

By putting your own happiness and needs up to the top of the priority list and being Positively Selfish, everyone around you reaps the rewards because you are constantly topping up your tank

so you will have more and more energy and love to give those around you. 

From around 10 years old, my daughter frequently suggested that I take a “power nap” as she called it

because she could see when my energy was low and that my battery needed recharging. 

She also understood that I would have much more energy to have fun with her if I took some time to myself.

So, what is it that you enjoy doing?  What relaxes you?  What makes you happy? 

How can you introduce more relaxation, happiness and ‘me’ time into your day-to-day life? 

Whose support do you need to help you become a little more “positively selfish”?

As you plan each day, make sure that you consciously schedule in a little time for you

because, after all, it is YOUR life.

“I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.”

Jack London, Author, 1876-1916

May you be at peace

May you be well

May you be happy

Jenny and Eoin