For a long time, I didn’t think twice about putting myself last.
It wasn’t something I consciously decided - it just…happened. Life filled up with responsibilities, people I cared about, things that needed to get done, and somewhere along the way, my own needs quietly slipped to the bottom of the list. My health, my energy, even the simple things that made me feel like me again — they all became “I’ll get to it later.” And for a while, that felt normal. Responsible, even.
But over time, “later” turned into years. And what I didn’t realize back then was that putting myself on the back burner wasn’t neutral - it was costing me. Not all at once. Not in some dramatic, obvious way. But slowly.
- Less energy
- More frustration
- That feeling of being off, but not quite knowing why
And if I’m being honest, one of the biggest reasons I stayed stuck there was something that sounds completely logical on the surface: money.
“It’s too expensive.”
“I’ll wait.”
“There has to be something cheaper.”
I said all of it. And to be fair - those thoughts aren’t wrong. Life is expensive. Budgets are real. We all have to make choices. But what I’ve come to understand is this: we often label something as “too expensive” when we haven’t fully decided that we’re worth the investment yet. Because if you look at how we spend in other areas, it tells a different story.
We find the money for convenience.
We find the money for things we enjoy.
We find the money when something feels urgent enough.
But when it comes to our health - our energy, our mental clarity, how we actually feel every day - suddenly it becomes optional. A luxury. Something we’ll “circle back to.” That shift in perspective didn’t happen for me overnight. It came from learning - sometimes the hard way - that cheaper doesn’t always mean better.
You can take two products that claim to do the exact same thing. One costs significantly less, so naturally, it feels like a smarter choice. But when you look closer, the difference is often in what you don’t immediately see - the amount of active ingredients, the quality of sourcing, how it’s formulated, and whether it’s actually designed to work or just to sell. And what ends up happening is you take more of the cheaper option, hoping to get the same result…but never quite getting there.
So, you spend money anyway.
You stay frustrated anyway.
And you stay stuck anyway.
That was a turning point for me – realizing that what I thought was “saving” was actually costing me progress, time, and how I felt in my own body. Because the truth is, whether we like it or not, we pay either way. We either invest in our health now - or we pay for the effects of neglect later. And that doesn’t just show up physically. It shows up in your energy, your patience, your mood, your ability to show up for the people you love.
That’s when something shifted. Not in a dramatic, “I’ve got it all figured out” kind of way - but in a quiet, honest realization: I can’t keep showing up for everything and everyone else if I’m running on empty. And choosing to take care of myself didn’t make me selfish. It made me sustainable. I still show up for people. I still care deeply. I still give. But now, I do it from a place where I’m also taking care of me - not instead of others, but alongside them.
Because the airplane rule we’ve all heard? It’s not just a safety instruction - it’s a life principle.
You put your oxygen mask on first not because you’re more important…but because you’re no help to anyone if you can’t breathe.
That’s what investing in yourself really is.
It’s not indulgent.
It’s not unnecessary.
And it’s definitely not selfish.
It’s responsibility.
It’s deciding that your health, your mind, your body, and your peace deserve attention now - not someday. And it doesn’t have to be extreme. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be intentional. For me, it started with one decision: to stop waiting until everything else was taken care of…and start including myself in the equation.
So if you’ve been sitting in that space of knowing something needs to change, but talking yourself out of it because of time, money, or uncertainty - I get it. I’ve been there.
But I’ll ask you the same question I had to ask myself: What is it costing you not to choose yourself? And if you’re ready to explore what that next step could look like - in a way that actually makes sense for your life, your goals, and your pace - I’m here. Let’s talk. No pressure. No overwhelm. Just a real conversation about what it looks like to take your control back and finally feel like yourself again.
And by choosing you? That’s where everything changes. 🌿
0 Comments