Be Selfish

Every flight begins with the flight crew going over the safety procedures in case an emergency takes place. Most people don't pay attention, especially frequent flyers and most understand the chances of an emergency is very small. During this session, there's a part about oxygen masks coming down. The crew instructs everyone to put their own masks on before helping anyone else. How selfish is that? Think of yourself first. Save yourself first before thinking of anyone else.

I am a strong advocate of living a self-less and giving life. It brings more meaning to you and people around you. However, I champion being selfish in one instance. Making sure you prioritize your life and time. Be selfish to who you give your time to.

In our pursuit to live a meaningful life of being a giver, we tend to overdo it and share out resources and our time without thinking of the impacts to ourselves. It becomes an exercise of trying to meet expectations from others and the fear of disappointing the people around us. We tend to do our best to please everyone around us. Even though this still brings value and meaning, it starts to drain the amount of time we have to ourselves. We start prioritizing others and putting ourselves secondary. It may not happen overnight, but over time, it begins to compound and our lives begin to feel the impact. We only have 24 hours a day (8hrs of which reserved for sleep/rest).

You need to find a way or system that focuses on yourself first. Focus on your physical & mental health. Prioritize yourself. This allows you to give back to others in a more powerful and impactful way. The best version of you requires your utmost attention. The best version of you delivers value in less time. The best version of you reaches more people in less time and effort. By being selfish and taking care of yourself first, you are able to share the best version of yourself to the world around you. I guarantee you that your impact is greater.

You cannot save anyone, if you can't prove that you can save yourself first. So make sure you're selfish with your time. Find the essential people and things in your life, and focus most of your time there.

Be selfish as a parent, and take a break from your kids and allow yourself to focus time with your spouse.

Be selfish and find time daily to be with yourself to recharge.

Be selfish to prioritize working out to be healthy.

Be selfish by saying NO to invites or engagement to people you rarely see or interact with.

Be selfish by doing things you enjoy vs things people want you to do instead.

Be selfish by taking that long vacation to enjoy your life and family rather than working.

Many of our regrets are tied to doing things to please others, rather than focusing on ourselves and the few people we truly love. These regrets are tied to losing that time to do the one thing we never got the chance to do. Make sure you're always giving the best version of yourself to the world around you. This requires you investing most of your time to yourself.

Understand, time is the only asset in the world that you can never gain back. Once it's past, its gone forever. Life is short. Our time is limited. Don't feel obligated to give your time to jusy anyone if it's not what's best for you. Be selfish with your time - only YOU can determine who to share your time with.