Putting Yourself First Isn’t Selfish: What an Airplane Oxygen Mask Taught Me About Caring for Others
Have you ever felt guilty for taking care of yourself before taking care of someone else? I have.
For years, I thought the airplane instruction to put on your own oxygen mask before helping a child sounded terribly selfish. How could you watch a frightened child struggle to breathe while you helped yourself first?
Then I learned something that changed how I understood those instructions.
The instruction isn’t telling you whose life matters more. It’s telling you how to give both people the best chance of surviving.
In this episode of Survivor Affirmations, we’re talking about the guilt so many women carry when they put themselves first, especially those of us who grew up believing that being a good woman meant sacrificing our own needs.
We’ll explore why protecting yourself isn’t the same as abandoning someone else, why another person’s hurt feelings don’t outweigh your safety, and why healthy boundaries can feel uncomfortable when you’ve spent a lifetime putting everybody else first.
This conversation is for the mothers, caregivers, Survivors, and women who have spent years making sure everybody else was okay, sometimes without anyone asking whether they were okay.
You can be loving without being endlessly available. You can be compassionate without putting yourself in danger. And you can care deeply about others without forgetting that your life has value, too.
Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is put on your own oxygen mask.
Your life matters, too. And you are somebody worth keeping safe.
Survivor Affirmations | Encouragement, Healing, Self-Trust, Women’s Safety, and Healthy Boundaries
