Ensuring you start prioritizing yourself shouldn’t be this hard. But, somehow, it keeps coming up in conversation after conversation. It’s hard to do.

Sometimes we make it hard for ourselves to make time for us – we pile up our calendars with task after task, beyond the point of what’s even possible in a 24 hour period. Other times situations outside of our control keep us from getting to putting ourselves in a position to do something just for us.

We aren’t a priority for ourselves because we think and operate as if a tired and worn out version of ourselves is good enough. That we can actually be fully there for our children with only half of our right minds. Because we don’t think it’s as necessary as it really is.

As adults we put time and effort into what we believe is vital and important and often times prioritizing yourself doesn’t make the cut. So of course, that means our children, our spouses, our jobs, and our family and friends get top priority.

I truly believe we know that we as women are important – we see reminders all over social media to take care of ourselves, get self care, take a time out, but when the rubber meets the road we don’t follow through.

It is too easy to push that last task onto the to do list for tomorrow – we can get to it later because we know we’ll be available tomorrow. And then, tomorrow never comes

A former guest, Patrice Cameau, spoke about making room for herself when it didn’t exist. This was in her life as well as her physical location when looking for a work space. When she realized she had to create the space herself she began to do different things:

She went to Bikrim yoga and got inspired

Sometimes the craziest places can get us on the right path headed to where we need to be. As simple as a yoga class is, that quiet and solitude to think through life can’t be found when you’re at home with kids calling your name 50 times an hour. Get away, go be creative, work out, do something alone and begin to think about how you can really make this change for good.

She started working slowly

One of the biggest pitfalls to making changes is taking on too much of a change at one time. We’re not usually good at keeping up with huge life overhauls. Small tiny bites are much easier to digest. Once you master one small change, you can add another because the first smaller change can be done almost without thinking. When we start to take on too much we get forgetful, we get tired, we get overwhelmed.

She began to meet people

While getting prepared for her space Patrice began to meet people who would become integral in her success. She met future customers, stakeholders, decision makers, supporters, and more. Sometimes in order to accomplish a goal we need outside support. Accountability partners are so helpful when we aren’t reaching our goals. When we give them permission, they can get on us to take that time out we need, listen to us when we are figuring a problem out, and even suggest some ways we might be neglecting ourselves to highlight where we can focus. 

Taking the necessary action to find ways to begin prioritizing yourself is not going to happen overnight. How long have you been going without it – so that’s not an easy fix. But the benefits and the need for setting ourselves on the list outways the uncomfortable parts.

In what ways are you starting to prioritize yourself? Sound off below!