Take Good Care of Yourself

Remember to take care of yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
– Unknown

No one wants an empty cup.

If you’ve ever flown, you’ll remember in the flight attendant pre-flight speech that no one ever listens too, you’re always told that in the event the oxygen masks come out of the ceiling, put yours on first before helping a child or someone else who needs assistance.

There’s a good deal of logic in that. If you’re incapacitated, there’s not much chance that you’re going to be able to help others.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not some sort of selfish “me first” post. It’s always important and approriate to consider others before your own wishes and needs.

Any parent already knows that. That’s not the point.

As much as I talk about how I have too much to do, and I do, I know the reality is that I have to be deliberate in how I take care of myself. Otherwise, all of that is going to fall apart and I’m not going to be any good to anyone, including myself.

Sure, I wish I’d had this revelation when I was in my 20s, or even 30s, or…well, you get the point.

But, what I know now is that there are certain choices I have to make to keep going.

What are those choices?

Taking care of my health. I’m almost sixty and I’m overweight. I’m working on the weight, but I can’t do anything to stop getting older.

Here’s the thing, I know that I also have arthritis, and I know that if I don’t keep moving, it’s only going to get worse and come to the point when I won’t be able to move.

So, I try to get to the gym and at least do the pool or the bike as often as possible. When weather permits, and when I’m not being a lazy slug, I try to walk at lunchtime.

I also try, I said try, to maintain a healthy diet. No, I’m not dieting. I’m making healthy choices that include a mostly primal eating plan. As I mentioned in my More or Less post, since the accident and the holidays that’s been a bit difficult to follow.

Still, I know when I exercise and eat right, I feel better.

The same goes for rest. I can’t burn the midnight oil and get up with the chickens. I don’t have chickens. I wouldn’t mind having some except for the fact that I’d have to get up with them. And, I have promised myself and my wife that there will be no more livestock.

Rest also applies to not working seven days a week. As you may recall, I ended my time at the amusement park in September, before the season ended. I just couldn’t maintain a seven-day work week. I miss working there. Right now I know applications are being taken for the 2018 season. Part of me wants to but…I…just…can’t.

Taking care of myself also applies to watching how much we spend.

It applies to reading and learning, more on that tomorrow.

And, it applies to finding some time for just me.

I’m an introvert. Alone time is medically necessary.

These are not selfish things. These are things that I (and you) need to do to take care of myself so that I can think about doing things for others.

Or doing more for myself.

But, that’s another post.

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Cover Photo by Taylor Franz on Unsplash

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