When I was a teacher, I loooooved to work myself to the bone and sacrifice my own life and health for the “good” of my students.


I would work 10, 12, 14 hour days. I would skip workouts and meal prepping to “get more work done” (though the truth is, I was so depleted that in those extra hours of work, I wasn’t really getting anything done).

It took me years to figure out that I wasn’t actually helping anyone by giving all of myself to my vocation. When I wasn’t taking care of myself, I was impatient and tired and got frustrated easily, and I wasn’t the best teacher I could be. I resented my colleagues for not working like I was and getting to enjoy their lives. I resented the education system and families that seemed to demand more of my time and effort every single day. And I resented having to show up for anyone in my life who needed me.

I love helping others, but I don’t want to spend my entire life only helping others. With my entire focus on my job, I was neglecting friendships and hobbies and my health. For me, that wasn’t the recipe for a full life.

I don’t believe you or I were put here to suffer in service of others.

Living out the full expression of your purpose means doing the work that you feel you’re meant to do AND taking care of yourself and getting to enjoy life!

And it’s a choice you get to make. Being driven by a purpose can consume you if you let it. You have to be intentional and choose yourself everyday, knowing that putting yourself first is in the highest service of the people you help and serve.

​And sometimes putting yourself isn’t easy or exciting (e.g., exercising, eating healthily, getting quality, consistent sleep), but it is necessary to get to enjoy everything else, like showing up fully with friends and loved ones, doing your best at your job, and all the fun things you get to experience in life.

Have you heard the financial advice to pay yourself first?

Some experts say that before you pay your bills and debts and spend your money, you should put money into savings for yourself. The alternative to this is paying everyone else and then saving whatever is left over. With the second method, you end up living paycheck to paycheck, stressing about finances and not getting a retirement because you never have money saved for emergencies and splurges and long-term needs. When you pay yourself first, you’re putting money into savings and retirement accounts and that money grows over time. Not only does that mean that you have a safety net, but the interest you earn on that money compounds and after decades, you have way more money than you put in.

The same goes for your health and well-being. If you spend all your time and energy doing things for other people, how much do you have left in the tank at the end of the day for yourself? Probably not much. Not only is this not good for you in your daily life right now, but in the long-run, you’ll be unwell and unable to fully enjoy the later years of your life.

You have to pay yourself first, but with movement, sleep, mindfulness, nourishing foods, and social connection. And that investment compounds over time, meaning you get to enjoy a high quality of life for a long time.

​Your health is just as valuable an asset as your money, if not more. Health is THE thing that makes everything else possible. You MUST take care of yourself before you take care of others if you want to keep doing it.