You're that person everyone goes to when they need a friend. You're the person who would give somebody their last, even if it meant you would suffer. You're the person who puts every person in their life before themselves. You know you can't do it anymore, and that you shouldn't do it anymore, but you can't say no. You can't fathom putting yourself first, because it's in your nature to take care of people to the very best of your ability and the thought of not taking care of others makes you feel awful.
You have a heart of gold, and that's a beautiful thing because not everybody is like that these days. But when it begins to physically exhaust you, that's a problem. When it begins to really have an effect on your physical or mental health, that's a problem. It is okay to say no and anybody in your life that makes you feel guilty for doing so, doesn't deserve you in the first place. I want you to understand something: You cannot be there for people and do things for people at the expense of your own health. That is not fair to you. This is something that took me awhile to understand, and break the habit of doing. I take care of people, it's what I do. It makes me happy to make other people happy. But, when is it time to take care of me? When is it okay to put myself first? When is it time to make sure I'm good? Because when I'm not good, I can't make sure the people that I love are good. When I'm not good, my performance at school isn't where it should be. When I'm not good, my performance at work isn't where it should be. Times like that truly take a toll on your future.
So if you can't take that friend to work, or you can't lend that friend money because of whatever reason: That's okay. If it comes down between doing something for you, and doing something for somebody else it is OKAY. You do what you need to do, and you don't owe one single person an explanation. Don't beat yourself up about it, you have to be selfish sometimes. Does it mean you stopped caring? No. Does it make you a bad person? Not at all. You're worrying about you. Your body is your temple, take care of it. Don't wear yourself out at the expense of others. It is okay. If you take anything away from this article, let it be this: It is okay to say no. It is okay to look out for yourself FIRST.
Somebody once told me this, and I want to share it with you. I want you to sit and think on it, and put it into action. He said "You are a queen before you are a slave to anyone else". That moment changed me, and put things into perspective. It's okay. You're still a great person, you still have that beautiful golden heart.
You can't be everyone's superwoman or superman.
