This is a topic vastly approached by our today’s society and whilst all of what it is saying is true, there is a slight different approach to that and I must say, it’s less selfish.
Ok, we all know the phrases “we only have one life” and “we should put ourselves first so we can help others” and all of that, but what if there is something more than this? What if it is our duty to treat ourselves like we matter because the alternative is worse?
In the below video you’ll see Jordan B. Peterson’s take about this matter, and I must admit that the idea number four hit me hard. What if we must treat us like we matter because otherwise we’ll create more suffering around us? What if instead of taking the selfish approach (with which there is nothing wrong, but it’s harder for some of us to act upon it), we do it because we care about the ones around us? What if it’s our moral duty to make the world a better place and the smallest step starts with this idea of treating ourselves like we matter? This might be similar to body hygiene. If you don’t want to shower for yourself because you’re too lazy, you need to shower so you don’t intoxicate the people around you.
My conclusion is that even though we sometimes don’t feel like treating ourselves like we matter, we need to do it because the alternative makes the world a worse place to live. That’s not why we’re here. That’s not why we were born. We were born to contribute in a positive way, not in a negative one by the lack of positive action. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said:
“Unless we progress, we regress.”
How helpful do you think is this approach?
I like your thoughts on this topic. I’ve recently been thinking about how I’m not much to care how my hair looks ever day, especially on those days when I’m tired and rather sleep in a few extra minutes. So I’m making it a goal to make that matter that again daily. Little things like those add up.
Agreed. I spoke to someone last week who said he likes to dress up and how not many people do that anymore.
Yes, and I also agree that it makes a big difference!
Yes! Little things always add up! Those things make a difference in our world.
I think this concept can be summed up in the safety briefing every time you fly commercial, “place the oxygen mask on yourself before your children” or something along those lines. You can’t help anyone else unless you’re helping yourself first. I 110% believe in this concept especially in recovery.
Agreed.
Totally agree! But I’m not sure how many of them would actually follow those instructions because of the immediate reflex to help the ones they love the most.
I could not agree more
Our purpose while living in the physical world, is to interact/ impact others as positively as possible.
Our survival depends on it.
And not only that our survival depends on it, our social network depends on it!
This is certainly a different approach…caring for others by caring for ourselves first… This is a great bit of perspective for my morning…Thanks!
Thank you for reading! 😀
I actually practice this at home. I usually have dinner before the family, so I can serve them better. I do not consider that as a selfish act at all. If I am hungry, I am not my best self. To put my best self forward, I need to practice self – care. So, yes, I agree 100% with your post.
Thank you very much for reading and for sharing your experience! Yes, if there is something not so great with us, we’ll be not so great with others, and that’s not helpful at all.
So true!, we are ALL in this together!
Yes, we are! 🙂
I don’t know if you have read Peterson’s book 12 Rules to Life, but number four is what he talks about in chapter 2 of the book. The title is “Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping.” His point in the chapter is we can over-extend ourselves while helping others. We can’t properly care for another person if we are falling apart ourselves.
Yes, I’ve read his book and I think he has many awesome points in it!
If we think about this idea, it makes total sense! The thing is that we don’t put ourselves first because we either don’t realize how important we really are or we don’t want to seem selfish…