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Today's Article: Paying yourself first
I
recently gave a presentation in San Francisco on getting motivated and
reducing lifestyle risk factors. At one point as we began
defining the actions that the group members would be willing to take to
improve their personal well being. When this discussion began a
middle aged woman stated "Being a woman, I've always put the needs of
others in front of my own needs". The predominantly female
audience all sighed together with a agreeing 'um-hum', and it
absolutely struck me firstly, how big of a topic we had just uncovered,
and secondly how common it is that we are paying our energy to others
before we are using it on ourselves!
The only response that came to mind was:
'How would it be if it were OK to put your own needs first?'
Amazingly, the energy shifted immediately, a certain lightness
opened up in the room and suddenly possibilities started opening up.
We spent some time discussing the topic of putting your own needs
first and it became very clear that this was not in any way a 'selfish'
act, and quite the opposite by taking care of your own needs first, you
have the capacity to be who you truly are when in the presence of others - WOW, what a conversation!
What does 'paying yourself first' mean? In financial terms, it
quite often means taking money out of your paycheck automatically
before it is spent in other places. This might be towards a
retirement account, towards paying off debt, or perhaps towards the
savings account for that dream vacation. The concept ultimately
is that you save by paying yourself first! It might be by
deferring taxes, it could be because money in a standard account would
otherwise be spent, either way the purpose is directing your financial
energy into a useful form and doing this before anyone else can get
their hands on it. The end result, a more productive use of your
money!
So how can this principle be applied to other areas of life? Well
if you've subscibed to this newsletter for some time, you know that I
promote three aspects of wellness - Spiritual, Physical and
Financial. In whatever your spiritual model is, in what ways could
investing in your spirituality first be supportive? Imagine the
paybacks that investing in your physical body first would have!
Similar to a bank account building over time, our physical and
spiritual beings grow based on the nourishment we provide them.
Have you been stocking your spiritual, physical and financial
investment accounts with hundred dollar bills, pennies, or have you
been making withdrawals!
Ask yourself the questions
Where do I need to pay myself first?
If I were to pay myself first - how would that realistically effect my capacity to perform in other situations?
From my interactions, its pretty
amazing - paying yourself first results in a greater good for all, not
just yourself! If you are not sure, start with something small and see
if paying yourself first is easier than it might sound!
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