by Gladys Diaz

The beginning of this week was tough for me.  I had a busy weekend and kept going, and going, and going, adding more things on my plate.  On Saturday, after a long morning of not-so-successful fishing with the family, I curled up on the couch with my favorite Disney flannel blanket, ready to take a nap to the sound of the falling rain (one of my favorite things to do!).  A few minutes later, however, my husband reminded me that we’d told the boys we’d take them to go see a movie.  I rested for a bit, but I wasn’t able to take the yummy nap I’d settled in to take.

On Sunday, I I spend most of the day cleaning the house.  Usually, the boys and my husband will help me, but, for some unknown reason, I didn’t ask for help.  So, what could have taken me two hours, ended up taking four hours.  I was exhausted. Then I had to run over to my mom’s house and do groceries for her.  By the time I got home, it was about 9:00 p.m., and, after I folded and put the clothes away and finally sitting down, I began to notice that I was feeling a little “off” — not really sick, per se, but not quite like myself.

I chalked it up to just being tired, but, by the time I woke up on Monday, my head and body felt heavy.  I felt as if I could not overcome the desire to close my eyes.  At first, I thought I had the flu, but I had none of the symptoms.  All I knew was that it was as if my body was screaming at me to give it some rest.   So I laid down on the day bed in my husband’s home office to talk to him for a little bit… And I fell asleep for four hours!  That night, I let my husband take care of dinner for the boys and I went to bed early (for me) and slept another ten hours!

Tuesday morning, I still did not feel like myself, and since I didn’t have any early appointments, I stayed in bed for as long as I could before going to my desk.  I worked in my pajamas, in case I got the chance to lie down again.  I’d promised my kids I’d finish work early so that we could do something fun together. When I asked my son if he wanted to go bowling, he said, “Mama, you’re not feeling well.  You should really rest.”  (Out of the mouth of babes…)

When he said that, I realized how easy it is for me to put everything and everyone before myself.  I clearly still did not feel 100% like myself, but I was going to put that aside so that I could do something with my kids, which probably would not have been fun, given the way I was feeling. I saw how my little one was more in touch with how I was feeling than I was, and I was filled with gratitude for the love I felt coming from him!  Now, why wasn’t I giving that same type of love to  myself?

Do you do the same thing?  Do you tend to put aside your needs and your heart’s desires to take care of other people and “more important things”?

For example, do say you want to be in a loving, fulfilling relationship, but tend to put all of your time, energy, and attention into your work and career?  Do you put off going out on dates and possibly meeting the man of your dreams because you’re simply “too busy”?

Do you do everything for everyone else in your home — cook, clean, take care of the bills and make all of the decisions, but deny yourself the time to just relax with a good book, call up or spend some time with a girlfriend, or take a  nap?

Do you tend to avoid dealing the issues that you and your husband or partner are experiencing by diving into projects at work or in the community?  Is it easier to pretend those problems are not there or that they will somehow, magically, work themselves out?

It can be easy to lose sight of what we really want.  We can create excuses, reasons, and justifications for why something else is more urgent or more important. But when we do that, we are also denying ourselves the things we desire most, and, with that, will come a corresponding drop in vitality, in our sense of joy and fulfillment, and in our sense of worth.

So, are you with me? Will you go ahead and put yourself at the top of your list of priorities?  Will you make a choice right now to do something that you enjoy, that brings you pleasure, and that allows you to feel like you are at the top of your list?

If so, please tell me what you are going to do for yourself in the comment box below!  I want to celebrate with you!

And, for those of you who are single and are ready to stop putting your love life, your happiness, and your heart’s desires on hold, I want to invite you to learn about my new “Create Your Love Story” coaching and mentoring program.  This program will allow you and me to work together so that you can learn the skills that will have you attract the love that you want, create the love story you dream of and pray about, and have that love last for a lifetime.

Put yourself at the top of your list and sign up to work with me now!

===>>Click here to learn more!<<===

P.S. If you missed the “Creating the Relationship of Your Dreams” 90-Minute Training Call and you want to do the exercises that will help you create the relationship of your dreams now, there will be an encore call Friday, August 2nd, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.  The link will remain live until midnight on Saturday, but you must sign up for the call in order to get the call-in details.

Join this life-changing call and begin living the life and love of your dreams!

Comments?  Questions?  Let us know below!  We love hearing from you!