Make Yourself the Goal
During the pandemic, many of us were forced to deal with ourselves in ways we never imagined. With a governmental stay-at-home order for at least 8 weeks, you were either impacted positively, neutral or negatively. However, what do you do with the time you have now? One thing is to focus on your own needs. Even though I’m working from home and don’t have any extra time, I still need to make sure I’m healthy and reducing stress. It’s clear that being at home more often and by mandate, brings a certain amount of thinking that could make one go insane, or bring clarity in your life. I have been leaning towards the side of focusing on what I need to improve my quality of life. This has not been easy, but I do realize that things could be better for me while I’m home 90% of the time. I realized that I need to connect with people more for my own health. I also need to be clear on my financial goals, so I can move forward in my life. Most of all, it’s okay to do this than for no other reason at all for – ME.
When was the last time you set a goal just for your own well-being? Do we ever really make our own well-being a goal or is self-care just a catchphrase? Things like retail therapy, spa, girls’ night out, gym date or volunteering, are all great ways to feel satisfied with doing things for our own needs and for others. However, do these things really have a long-term impact on our lives? Are we just doing these things for the moment to feel good? The big question is are we doing these deeds because they are in alignment with our well-being and long-term life goals and divine purpose?
Making ourselves the goal is not just for the external or physical appearance. It’s about having a deeper, internal, soulful impact on our lives and not just for external acceptance or validation. It’s good to have a job or a career, but are you really fulfilling your destiny? Marriage and children are gifts and blessings, but are you content regardless of the state of your home life? This means that the job or family are not designed to make you happy, where happiness and contentment cannot be impacted by these external factors. The big picture is can you still do your job or career well, if you mess up or if the boss is manipulative? Do you still love your partner or children if they don’t give you a Mother’s Day gift or card? Sometimes we are relying on others to validate us, when we need to validate ourselves, by knowing our own value. Many of us are waiting for someone to notice how great and wonderful we are when we need to know how wonderful and beautiful we are without gifts, accolades, or promotions. It is not to say that we don’t deserve a gift or job promotion, but it means that we don’t need those things to have healthy self-esteem.
We have been giving so much to others that we forget to give and feed ourselves. When we stop feeding and nourishing ourselves, we feel that it is up to others to give to us, but we forget that when people have full access to us, they see it not as a gift or appreciation but as expecting us to give constantly without anything in return. I think it’s time we learn to give within reason to others and to save some love for ourselves.
Make giving and feeding yourself a goal as the country stabilizes. If you realize this, the government has to stable slowly, then we should give slowly. This should be based upon our needs and desires, so we do not forget about our own needs and desires of our hearts. True fulfillment happens when we give out of desire. and not just to please others. It is okay if others do not return the favor of love. It is not okay to give so much that we have forgotten ourselves, leaving us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally bankrupt. Make sure you give to others as a gift and not as a return on investment like a business investor waiting to get a return on a business. Humans are not businesses but people looking to be loved and not always giving love, so be mindful of this and be mindful of those who always take and not give.