Growing up, we are always told, “be kind to yourself,” “love yourself” and my personal favorite, “don’t forget to put yourself first.” After years and years of this advice being pounded into our heads, when did we stop listening to it?

I know at times it is incredibly hard to remember these things. It is hard to remember that you also matter. Your feelings matter, your thoughts and words, they matter. Trying to please everyone else is an exhausting thing. Believe me, I have been there and done that. We have to remember that as humans, we can only do so much.

I have been emotionally and physically exhausted trying to please everyone else. Trying to make everyone happy at all once, but the problem with this was that I was forgetting that my happiness also matters.

There comes a point in your life when you have to realize that enough is enough. You can only do so much for others before you forget to do something for yourself. It is OK to want your own happiness. It is OK to do something for yourself, to put yourself first.

Amazing things begin to happen when you decide to finally put yourself first.

There is something truly amazing and incredible when you realize the amount of happiness you deserve in life. You finally see the steps you need to make to achieve your happiness.

When you put yourself first, you realize that you do not have to settle. In no way shape or form are you obligated to settle for anything in life. Not with a career, not in relationships, friendships and absolutely not with dreams. You are incredible and deserve everything in life and it is time you realize that you do not have to settle for anything.

Along your journey to self-love, to putting yourself first, you may loose some people. That is okay. Not everyone in your life is going to understand that you deserve this. Not everyone is going to make it to every chapter of your life. These people - you do not need them anyways.

Anyone who cannot encourage you to put yourself first, who does not realize that your happiness truly matters, doesn't deserve to be apart of the journey and to watch you grow into the happy person you are about to become.

You are going to change when you decide to put yourself first. This, however, is not a bad thing. You deserve to be put first. You are fighting to do so and that will only make you a stronger person.

Hearing that you need to put yourself first can be a little intimidating. Mostly because as humans, we often do not realize that we aren’t doing exactly that. You have to take a step back and ask yourself if what you are doing right now, at this very moment, is making you happy. Are you truly putting yourself first and giving yourself the time and love that you deserve? If not, it is time to start doing so.

“It is not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” –Mandy Hale