Why Do We Make Everything Else a Priority, But Ourselves?

Is it time to make you the priority? How long have you been spending: Work. Time. Money. on others, while neglecting yourself?

Does Work Come First?

I moved to Colorado from Blue Island, IL in 1998. I was working for a Miller Brewing Company distributor and they had just purchased a license to distribute from a company, Tower Beverage, that was being sold. I loved my job, I have really loved every job I have had, but that’s a story for another post! I worked there for a while and it changed owners again. At this point I had proven myself to be trustworthy, reliable and all that jazz, in the IT realm. We were moving data from one company to another and it was important to me to get it right. I was there for an entire weekend checking, double checking things as I moved data over. It was just me and one contractor. Wanting to prove myself, I was giving my all in hopes that it would benefit me in the future. That never happened, it was only a benefit to someone else. I had so much anxiety and was thinking and rethinking all of the things I may have missed. I actually ended up going to the hospital because I felt like I was having a heart attack. Turns out it was just anxiety but it was a scary time.

I continued to work for that same company and was very dependable. Every week, multiple times (YES every week), I would get a call in the middle of the night about something that no one else knew how to fix it. I finally created processes and documentation that should be followed before calling me. And yet, still they called….And I answered every time.

I received the most heart wrenching call anyone in their lives could ever imagine. It was my dad calling to tell me my mother had died. Completely unexpected, she wasn’t sick but now she was gone. I rehashed all the times I couldn’t talk on the phone, couldn’t visit or couldn’t have her visit me because I was so determined to meet my company’s timeline and what they needed from me. Obviously, I went home for her funeral. But guess what? Work called me because something wasn’t working. Seriously. I listened to the voice mail and I was furious. Furious that no one took the time to tell people what had happened. No one took the time to read the documentation. No one actually cared. I cared way too much about that company, way more than they cared about me. The day after my boss called me upset that I hadn’t responded. I’m not exaggerating, that actually happened. I was so worried about giving my all to work, that I missed out on things that were important to me, like precious time with my mother.

Time

I remember in February of 2013 I moved to Broomfield, CO, from Lakewood, CO. I met the best guy (see above, we even got married – you might know him as Coach Patrick) the year before and we merged our families. My son, Zach was the only child still living at home with me. We did everything together. He was my mini me and every moment with him was special to me. He was attending South Lakewood Elementary right down the street. I didn’t want him to change schools so late in the year so I decided to keep him enrolled. How was that going to work?

Every morning I would wake up exceptionally early to get ready for work. I would then make breakfast and get Zach up. Zach would eat breakfast and we would have a nice 45 minute drive in rush hour traffic past Denver to Lakewood. He would go to an in home day care down the street from the school until I picked him up after work, which usually ended up to be around 6pm and we would get home sometime before 7pm. I drove 90 minutes a day more than I needed to for Zach, because he is worth it.

I mean, look at that face!!! 90 minutes a day is not easy to come up with. 90 minutes with this kid every day meant the world to me. Because it was important to me I found the time.

Money for Everyone Else’s Dreams

Zach has always been active, I enrolled him in every sport you could think of. Soccer was his thing at that time so I wanted to find the best club for him. We enrolled him in Broomfield Soccer Club. At the age he was at there was only a rec league but as he got older he tried out for the competitive division and he was accepted. The cost to have him on the team was just over $1,200.00. I will gladly sign this check because it was worth it.

When something is a priority for you, you will find a way. I’m not telling you to stop spending time with your kids or stop spending money on their activities. What I am saying is that if you have a priority you will find a way to make it work. So why not make yourself a priority as well. Find a way to come up with a fitness budget that is built of money AND time, as if you were doing it for someone else. As if you were me, doing it for Zach. Because like L’Oreal says, “You are worth it”.

How do you begin? Ask yourself what is taking your money and time that is NOT aligned with the goals you have for yourself? What are you going to do about it?

Come see us and we will make you the priority! We do this every day for people.