5 Reasons YOUR Oxygen Mask Needs to Go On First

“I hope I don’t make it to see my kids graduate and get married.”

      -No one ever

 

That quote looks ridiculous when you see it on paper.

 

And yet many men behave in a way that is much more aligned with THIS quote than with its opposite.

 

At the end of the day we all have the best intentions.  We do our best to connect with our kids. We try to provide for all their needs and a few wants as well. 

 

The pressure to do this well can be overwhelming. Especially when we think that putting our kids first means putting them first in EVERY MOMENT.

 

But if it’s at our own expense, and we’re not able to be there down the road, as they AND we want, is it worth it? 

 

Beyond “being there” though, prioritizing our own oxygen masks has other tangible benefits for dads.

 

Many men, myself included, have said to themselves, “I don’t have time to take better care of myself.”

 

Most of them even believed it.

 

Here are five reasons why that’s a load of crap:

 

1) Energy

When you are healthy, you have a greater capacity to accomplish more of what you want. Good health and fitness create a growing inertia loop of energy and accomplishment. The better you feel, the more you do. The more you do, the better you feel. Thus, you don’t have to start huge. Rather, start small and let it grow.

 

2) Fun

When you are fit, you can actually do more of the things in life that are fun, especially with the kids. Skiing, running, playing basketball, laser tag—I underestimated its physical impact on a body until I still couldn’t walk three days later! Good health allows you to be more active in your kids’ lives and enjoy it along the way.

 

3) Example

We all know our kids look up to us, but are terrified to think they will imitate our worst habits. Spoiler alert: It’s a package deal. Sure he has your cobalt blue eyes and rapier wit, but he will eat and drink like you as well. You tell me—is that a good thing for him? Behave like the adult you want your kids to be so that they have the long, energetic, fun lives you want them to have.

 

4) Your Priorities

You can run, but you can’t hide. When you do not have your health, it is much harder to accomplish the other valuable priorities in your life. Poor health saps both the time and energy required to deal with its consequences. That leaves less time and energy for the things you want to do. When you’re not fit, you increase the degree of difficulty because so much of your “human RAM” is allocated to dealing with sickness or problems. It takes much less effort to stay ahead of life’s ailments than to deal with them once they arrive. It is true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you only have twenty “ounces” of energy in a day, it’s tough to do all your worthwhile stuff when sixteen ounces are spoken for by “cure.” Stay healthy, and you can allocate nineteen ounces to your priorities instead of four.

 

5) Being There

Finally, here’s the big one. Every father wants to walk his daughter down the aisle or see his son graduate or go fishing with his granddaughter. Life offers no guarantee; we all know that. But there are odds, as well as clear and statistically proven ways to improve them. So, if you want those things as much as your children want them, take good care of yourself to improve the odds.

 

 

Don’t think of it as “Self-care.”

 

Self-care is a squishy word with a branding problem among men because it doesn’t sound very masculine. 

 

Most men understand that their car can’t simply be driven forever with all the same parts and fluids it had when we bought it. 

 

 

For our car to operate at peak AND last a long time, it need regular maintenance and repairs.

 

Do we think, “God!  My car is such a wuss!” or “I don’t have time to figure out where that smoke is coming from?”

 

We are far more complicated machines than our cars.  And if we want to get our life’s passengers to their destinations safely and for a long time, we need to make sure we aren’t driving the only machine we get on bald tires with no oil in the engine.

 

It’s not just “okay” but NECESSARY for dads to give themselves regular time in the shop for oil changes and sparkplugs.  This applies not only to our physical health, but our mental and emotional health as well.

 

This week, be sure to schedule time on your calendar for Maintenance & Repairs.