Get the best version of you
/Get the best version of you
By: Monica Eaton
Anxiety and overwhelm are real. The headaches, the chest pain, the fatigue. It’s all very real and valid. But in today’s world, it’s often overlooked. We continue to power through, telling ourselves it’ll get better, but yet we fail to rest.
An injury forces you to rest, causing so much physical pain we can’t use that body part much until it’s healed. Most of us know all too well that if we push through the pain of the physical injury healing is disrupted and delayed.
The mental health side is no different. When is the last time you prioritized yourself? As first responders, we often put everyone’s needs before our own.
We save lives and put criminals in jail. We fear calling in sick for work when we know it affects our co-workers and being short-staffed. We don’t take the rest day we need because laundry and other chores need to be done. We don’t work out or make time to cook food and eat well because somehow, with everything else, we just don’t have time to.
We don’t make time for ourselves because somehow all of those things take priority over our own well-being. These “selfless” acts are what put us into the hamster wheel of fatigue, irritability, high blood pressure, obesity, depression, anxiety, and so on.
Caring for everyone else instead of ourselves isn’t so selfless when it puts us in the hospital or in the ground earlier than we had planned because our family, friends, and coworkers depend on us.
Instead of putting everyone and everything first, choose you. Make time for the gym. Make time for sleep. Make time for family. Make time to cook. Make time for your hobbies and other things you enjoy doing.
Know that it is OK to lighten your load to tackle the chores and commitments until you can handle them again.
It is OK to lighten your workout for a walk, yoga, or stretching.
It is OK to take a nap.
It is OK to ask for help.
You are not alone in your struggles. Everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about.
Listen to yourself. Listen to your body. Take the rest day.
The minute you choose to prioritize yourself is the very minute you, and everyone else, benefits from getting the best version of you.
Don’t wait. Start now.
Monica Eaton is the owner/CEO of Five-0 Fierce and Fit which creates online nutrition and fitness programs designed to help female first responders lose fat, gain strength and take back their confidence in 90 days because “your family depends on you to be fit for duty.” Using her six-year Oklahoma law enforcement experience along with her 15-year background in fitness and nutrition she helps female first responders reach their full potential in life and career. Look her up on Instagram @five0.fierce.and.fit
