Sounds selfish? It’s not, here’s why.

In order to perform at our best and help those who rely on us, it’s important to be mindful of our own health and well-being. How are we feeling? What are we ready or able to do? Starting the day with meditation or other mindful practices can help us get clear and better focused.

We may neglect this practice when work takes center stage. Getting swept-up in work and in generating results can seem normal; Society encourages hard work. Dedication to being productive is applauded. Even our family and friends will join in on this chorus and reassure us that our hard work is admirable.

However if we prioritize work above all else, our health and well-being can suffer. We can become too habituated to working long hours, to always being “on call” and to focusing on doing, rather than being. This phenomenon creates an imbalance between work and everything else.

I strongly advocate for prioritizing as follows:

1. Yourself

2. Your relationships

3. Work

That’s right; Work should be no higher than third in the priority list. And we cannot rely on others to give us proper work-life balance; It’s time we viewed that as a necessity, so we can secure it for ourselves. ◼︎