Now that we’ve talked about identifying your core values, I want to turn to another important piece of living intentionally – prioritizing yourself.

For those who have been following me for a while, you may know that today is the 17th anniversary of my Second Life Day. For those not familiar with, you can read about it in these blog posts, but the short version is on March 3, 2008, I was given a second chance at life after having nearly died by falling into a diabetic coma (I was unaware that I had Type-1 diabetes until that day). Every year since, I celebrate my Second Life Day. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to prioritize myself.

Like may people, I tend to put others first, and think of my own wants and needs in a secondary, or even lower, place. Putting myself first has been a challenging concept for me, but I have continued working on it piece by piece. Some might look at it as being selfish, but I look at it as honoring myself. I deserve the best in life. Let’s read that again:

I deserve the best in life. Full stop.

Therefore, today I chose myself. I took a day off from work so that I could do things I enjoy doing (sorry work, you didn’t make the cut!). That consists of a Starbucks visit for a drink and breakfast sandwich before hitting the road with my beautiful wife for a day trip to Halifax.

I’m living in accordance with my values. I have freedom and fun in my top values, so I am fully engaging with those today. Let’s see what the day brings for me.

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Are you easily able to prioritize your own wants, needs and desires? When is the last time that you said “I am going to do what I want to do today” and not cared about what anyone else thought? It’s an important step to learn to put yourself first. Some people may take offense to you doing it, but that is because they likely aren’t able to do it themselves, so unconsciously are jealous. Dare to prioritize your own wellbeing and needs first today. Give it a try. Who knows – you may just like the end result.