Putting my Well-Being First

During my two week Christmas break, I really got the time I needed to think. The month of December is ridiculously busy and I barely have time to breathe let alone think but once all the excitement was over and the Christmas decorations were put away, a little light bulb went off in my head. I haven't been putting my well-being first. To think about it, I have never put my well-being first. I may look put together on most days but I wasn't making sure that my inner-being was put together, so to speak. I have been stressed out about work, family, and just wanting to know if I will ever completely fulfill my life. If I felt overwhelmed, I would get irritated and I would not be very nice. So I am saying that I have had enough, it's not fair to myself or others if I am grumpy.

So I am taking action. I am going to start putting myself first in order to lead the life I want and to give my family, friends and students the woman they deserve. You know when you are about to take off on an airplane and the flight attendant is giving the directions in case of an emergency and they always say "Make sure you put on your oxygen mask first then your child's." We all know the reason why. If you don't put your mask on first, you will not be any help to your child if you pass out. Well, life is the same way. If you don't take care of yourself, you cannot truly take care of anyone else. To truly take care of someone else in the physical and emotional sense, you must be taking care of your inner-being. Some might disagree but I have come to realize that I have been doing it all wrong. My goal is to find true inner happiness. So I must work on a few things.

So over Christmas break, I literally froze time and thought to myself, how can I put my well-being first? How can I make sure that I live everyday like it is my last and to give the people in my life and myself the attention that it needs and deserves. Well, here's how I am going about it: I'm going to stop and smell the roses! I am going to take the time out of my tough schedule and meditate, write in my journal, and create. It doesn't matter what I do as long as I take out at least thirty minutes of my day for myself. I have been working hard to listen to what not only my physical being needs, but my mental being. If I am stressed out, there is good chance that I will eat bad and not work out. So I have to take care of my inner-being.

So I started last week working on my patience. Let me just tell you, my kids (students) responded so well. They had patience with one another and I barely had to tell them to lower their voices during the whole week. I know my teacher friends will no what I talking about. That was just the start of it. Since then I have been taking the time to just be present in every moment. Every time a student came up too me to tell me what was on their mind, I listened completely to every detail. Usually I have a million things running in my head that need to be done but this week, I stopped what I was doing and just listened. It didn't go in one ear and out the other. I let it process in my head. While I am taking care of my well-being, I am putting everyone first! Isn't it great how that works out? So here is a list of things that I am going to work on to improve my inner-being for true happiness:

1.Live in the Present

2. Have patience

3. Listen more than talk

4. Identify my strengths and weaknesses

5. Practice Gratitude

6. Continue my passion: Photography

7. Meditate

8. Laugh more

Each day I will be doing my best to wake up feeling lucky to be here on this earth and live each day as it's my last. I will do my best to put my well-being first and everything will fall into place.