A few weekends ago I spoke to a Men’s group about fatherhood, family and relationships. The person who runs this group has listened to my podcast and has read my articles on this site. He told me he appreciates the work I am doing in the parenting space. Therefore he reached out to me to see if I would be interested in speaking to his group about the importance of fatherhood and creating strong relationships. I was honored for the invite and wanted to share the insight of the many dads who I interviewed as well as my own thoughts on this topic. During that talk I used the analogy of putting on your oxygen mask first when it comes to self care and taking care of others. A lot of the men took to that analogy and thought it was a great piece of advice.
The Importance Of Oxygen
There are times where we feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. We are taking care of our partner and kids. In addition, we are also taking care of our parents and siblings. Add your job, taking care of your home and everything else you do can stress us all out. We start to feel drained and possibly lost. Therefore we might not be running on all cylinders. Even though we want to be there for others, you might not be helping your family and friends the way they need you to because we also need help. That is when you need to put your oxygen mask on first before you help others. Once you feel like you are at your best is the time when you should care for others.
Helping Yourself And Others
Before you tend to the needs of your family and friends, you need to make sure you are in a good place. How do you do that? I would suggest that you find things that make you feel good physically, mentally and emotionally. It can be something that takes 10 minutes out of your day. Play a video game. Go for a walk. Meditate. Whatever recharges your batteries, do it. You will feel better and you can concentrate on the needs of other people. Plus, this is a great way to teach your kids how to live a healthy life as they get older. Giving them that blueprint will be one of the best lessons you can teach them to succeed in life.
Another way you can make sure you are doing things right is to take care of mental health. One company that looks to help you out is BetterHelp. BetterHelp was founded in 2013 to remove the traditional barriers to therapy and make mental health care more accessible to everyone. Today, it is the world’s largest therapy service. They provide professional, affordable, and tailored therapy in a convenient online format. BetterHelp’s network of more than 32,000 licensed therapists has helped over 5 million people worldwide take ownership of their mental health and work towards their personal goals. BetterHelp is committed to expanding access to therapy globally. You can get 10 percent off by going to the following site over at betterhelp.com/artoffatherhood.
Please note: I am working with BetterHelp on a sponsored campaign. I am receiving payment for my work, but my thoughts are my own.