“Yes, it’s true that you need to put on your own oxygen mask first, and you cannot pour from an empty cup, but it’s also true that you deserve peace, simply because you do.” Amy Stewart-Cooper.

I made this “Image with Words” for a friend and colleague. This has been such a theme lately with my friends and with my clients. Compassion-driven people do so much for other people, that your self-care can’t be purely for other people too, there must be a component of your self-care that’s for your own self.

There is a fear that acting selfishly, even doing self-care purely for your own self, will turn you into a selfish person. But that’s not true. If the core of your being is compassion, then that won’t change. That’s probably what gave rise to the saying, “Self-care is not selfish.” But I think it’s truer that self-care will not make you selfish.

You need to put yourself first. This will help clarify for you when you’re doing things for other people because you want to, or because it’s expected of you—intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation. When you do things for others because YOU want to, rather than because other people expect it of you, then your compassion becomes even more powerful.

You need to trust yourself that stepping into your power will help make you your preferred version of yourself. And if your preferred version of yourself is compassionate, then that’s who you will be.

This is from a social media post that I made before I had this blog.