“A time to be selfish…”

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Shared by Breanne Smedley

As a mom, teacher, coach, partner, etc. it seems like selflessness is a requisite trait.

Most of us in these roles likely practice servant leadership all the time.

In fact, “Passionately Serving” is a cornerstone of the Mindfluent® Leadership DNA traits.

To put others' needs above our own.

To be generous of our time, resources, and energy in order to ensure that the needs of those we lead are being met.

But also, to take care of one’s self in the process of setting healthy boundaries and expectations.

I often overlook that part.

As a parent, sometimes I feel I have no choice.

We sacrifice sleep, time, freedom, and just plain “what I want to do today” for what our kids are needing or wanting.

I want to take a nap. Or clean the kitchen. Or just do nothing for a second.

Charlee wants to read the same dinosaur book for the 100th time today.

And so it goes. I put on my reading voice.

“Dinosaurs happy. Dinosaurs sad…”

But there’s a couple areas in my life where I’ve realized I have to be selfish in order to be selfless.

As the saying goes, “you can’t give from an empty cup.”

Every week, I block out the time that I’m going to work out.

Sometimes, it’s only 15 minutes that I can squeeze out of my day.

But, it goes into the calendar like an appointment.

Breaking a sweat fills my cup.

It helps me be mentally and physically stronger and more energized.

Which creates a domino effect on the rest of my life.

Mind. Body. Business. Relationships.

All benefit from me being selfish with my time to workout.

It’s been tempting to fill this time with other things.

Email. Meetings. Random things that come up.

But, I do my best to guard it. To be protective of the time I have scheduled.

To uphold that appointment with myself with the same level of commitment I’d give to an appointment with anyone else.

I understand the value in being selfless as a leader.

But sometimes it’s actually being a little selfish that acts as the best catalyst to servant leadership.

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#MindfullyEvolving

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