Greetings and Salutations, Dearest Blog Readers

Today we are talking about something that I am sure other bloggers and content creators can relate to: Taking your own damn advice.

As you may all recall, I have been dropping some top tier advice about taking care of yourself. Advice ranging from eating well, staying active, journaling, and doing whatever it takes to actually get the sleep you need.

The latter is what I will mostly be focusing on. I went to go see Kim, after two days of excellent sleep, and, true to my form, I immediately ignored my own wants, needs and boundaries, and didn’t get much sleep the entire time I was there.

Now, the issue of ignoring my own needs, wants and boundaries is a bigger issue I am working on, and I hope to be able to blog about soon, but I wanted to touch base about things like sleep, because I knew, I had it fresh in my head, how good sleep felt.

And I ignored it, for someone else. Sure, I made the choice to do so, but that’s shitty to do, and falls right back on doing things for other people, instead of what I want for myself.

And it trickles down. If I can’t assert my needs to sleep, how can I expect to assert my needs elsewhere?

How can I expect to assert my needs, and not crumble and cave to what serves someone else’s higher needs, ignoring my own, if I can’t even assert my simpler needs?

As it turns out, it means I compromise and don’t do what I want, I don’t get my needs met, and I stay miserable.

It’s a slippery slope. You start ignoring one thing you need, and eventually everything you need is secondary or tertiary to other things or people’s needs.

That is NOT living for yourself, that is NOT living your best life, and all in all it is shitty to do to yourself.

Additionally, if you are constantly writing blogs in hopes of helping hold yourself accountable and inspire others to live better, and then you do something as foolish as let other things, situations, or people stop you from your needs, you are letting down all the people who are following your journey, who are using you to inspire themselves to be their best selves.

If nothing else, the idea of letting down the good people who are looking to you for help and advice, should make you put yourself first.

You are a leader, in some capacity or another, and you need to represent yourself in that way.

And you also must hold yourself accountable. While it is easy, too easy, to say “so and so wants drinks so I am gonna ignore my no drinking rule” or WHATEVER- Ultimately YOU are making the choice.

You may choose to put someone else, something else, or some idea, ahead of your own goals, but YOU made that choice, not them. Even if they guilt you, make you feel bad, give you selfish reasons they want you to not do what you want to do, it is ultimately YOU who is making the choice to do something that doesn’t serve you.

So, knock it off. Live for yourself, not for others. Encourage others to do the same, even if it hurts, because ultimately, you should want everyone to do what is right for them, as you do for yourself.

I hope this inspires you to do what is right for you, and hopefully you do all the things you are putting as a lesser priority for you and stop placing others ahead you. YOU MATTER. Do the things that are good for YOU and to hell with anyone else, because as harsh as this may be, you are ultimately alone, and you really only have yourself, so fuel yourself.

It’s that whole “put your oxygen mask on before assisting others” thing, or “you can’t pour from an empty cup.”

So, fill your cup, get your sleep, put your needs first.

Thanks for reading,

Abbi