The holidays are approaching, so your
gift list is likely long, seems to grow longer every day, and you want to give your
family presents that will bring them joy. After all, it’s so much fun to see
huge grins on the faces of your children when they open up the perfect presents.
As much fun as it can be to give
tangible gifts, the very best gift you can give your family is health -- your health.
You know that the best way to be healthy
is to make healthy food choices, move your body, and get enough rest.
You
encourage these behaviors in your children, but do you set the proper example?
If you truly want your children to be healthy, then it’s important that you
take your own health seriously and make it a priority.
While there are no guarantees that
having healthy habits will enable you to live to your 100th
birthday, your healthy habits will help you live a longer and happier life. You’ll
have a better chance of seeing your children grow up, get married, and have
children of their own.
That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
Well, on top of that, by setting a healthy example for your kids, you actually
improve the chances that they will live
long, healthy lives as well.
When you set your health as a priority,
you send an important message to your family and others. The message is that
you matter. You’re important. You deserve health. You deserve to be fit. You
deserve to feel good for no reason other than that. Just because.
This is a powerful message for children
to hear and absorb. As much as you can tell
your children how important it is to take care of themselves, children are less
likely to take that message seriously if they don’t see it demonstrated.
The most important people in most children’s
lives are their parents. They watch and listen to what they say, but it isn’t
just a parent’s words that children pick up on. They hear and see everything; the
good, the bad, and the ugly.
It isn’t easy to fit being healthy into
your schedule. Life gets busy. Not only you a parent, but maybe you work
full-time outside of the home. It’s possible you have other obligations as
well. Maybe you have your own parents to look after or are a volunteer with a
group or committee.
Your children will be busy people, too.
Rather than demonstrating that other
people and other groups come first, consider shifting your priorities, try to
demonstrate that a person should take care of themselves first.
In business, it used to be that everyone
focused on the customer or client. The customer was always right. The client
came first.
Today, some powerful people in business
are realizing that policy isn’t the best practice after all. They’re instead
stating that employees should come first.
Clients do not
come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will
take care of the clients.
~Richard Branson
Similarly, you may have
been taught that you have to put your children first. You might consider
turning this thought around as well. When you take care of yourself first, you
can take care of the children because you’ve taken the time to take care of
yourself first.
Anyone who’s flown on an
airplane is familiar with the safety directions the attendants provide at the
beginning of each flight. In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, put your
own mask on first. Then you can help your child. What good are you to your kids
if you’ve passed out from a lack of oxygen?
By setting the example
of how important it is to take care of yourself, you set your entire family up
for healthier lives. You allow them to see that it’s okay for them to put their
own health on the top of the priority list. They learn to incorporate healthy habits
into their daily routine and see that doing so provides the energy and vitality
to function at their very best.
For more, please visit www.SharonBallantine.com.
