Hello and welcome again. It's the very first episode! Hi. I’m Tonia  I'm so excited to introduce the Stay On The Glow podcast and share a little bit about me and why I started the podcast. And with this podcast, if there is any message I want to get across, it's whatever you want, you only get when you put yourself first. In this episode, I'm sharing a few strategies for putting yourself first, and why it's so important you make these strategies habits to create, live and enjoy your best life. 

Which is a perfect segue into one of the segments each episode will have. We'll start each episode off with a quote, mantra, affirmation etc. The mantra for this episode is my personal one and the one I  base everything I share on. 

Create your moment. Savor your moment. Pass it on. 

It essentially means to create an experience, a life you love, by your definition, on your terms. As it means to you, and then savor that experience, that time. Celebrate your accomplishments. Take time to enjoy what you have created. Don't rush to the next thing. Don’t let anyone tell you it's not for you. Don’t take the good energy from it and diminish it with unnecessary excess noise and clutter. And lastly, to pass it on means to inspire others by being your authentic self living your best life, and yes, even doing for others. Our episodes will always tie back to this mantra and concept. I even consider it my code. 

Now, let me tell you a little about myself and why I wanted to share my insight, experiences, and to be expected shenanigans with you with this podcast 

I’m a former boutique fitness studio owner and business coach. Still a trademark attorney. I’ve recently started a printable business, and am just finishing up the website for my new blog about healthy and holistic care and products for your dogs. So, I’m the epitome of multifaceted, multi-passionate, and multitalented. I’m all about living my best life with the sun beaming on my skin, vegan cheesecake on my plate, water in my glass, and pittie perfection at my feet. I use the oxford comma, and binge Bluey better than any toddler you know. I’m an experience, to say the least.

So my multifaceted, passionate and talented – I’ve got you. And yeah, now, I’m all about living a vibrant, healthy lifestyle that is designed by you and puts you at the forefront, but it took me a long time to understand the importance of doing so and decide this for myself. 

For one reason or another, the past 5+ years had been less than ideal for me, and I started to notice that I was letting my shine fade and making one too many decisions that were not serving me. So, I took a step back and realized that the root cause was as simple as me not prioritizing my well-being. So before I completely turned into this person I not only did not recognize, but I didn’t like either, I set out on a mission to design and live my best, most healthy habits having life. This space is literally all about me doing just that and sharing my insights and experiences with you.  So if you are also embarking on turning your fantabulousness up a notch we should definitely vibe. And speaking of vibes, I’m all about beach house and abundant garden vibes. So Get comfy. Grab a seat, a glass, and slap on some sunscreen. I’m sharing all of my simple, everyday tips, insights, lessons, tools, and shenanigans on prioritizing our well-being, thriving in simplicity, and welcoming more joy into your daily lives. I’m excited to share this space with you.

So what do I mean by prioritizing our well-being and putting ourselves at the forefront of our lives? We're talking about healthy habits and being intentional, from the foods we eat to the spaces and relationships we create, and yes fitness is a must. For sure we’ll be talking fitness because of my fitness background. We’re talking staying both mindful and grounded, thriving in simplicity with flair, learning everyday, surrounding ourselves with positivity and preserving our peace, time, and energy. Having our finances in order, traveling the world, slowing down to enjoy our moment, and always doing simply what we love and welcoming joy into our lives every single day. 

And with that let’s dive more into today's actual topic:

WHATEVER YOU WANT, YOU ONLY GET WHEN YOU PUT YOURSELF FIRST

Because some of us are a whole experience. Another saying you’ll hear from me all the time is:

You're doing too much and not enough.

I’ll probably end up saying it every episode, as I’m known to say it almost daily. We’re always doing for others and not enough for ourselves. So we’re all over the place with our thoughts and actions. We’re not accomplishing our goals. We’re unorganized. We’re not making the impact we want. Our health is suffering. We don’t take time to do what brings us joy, heck many of us forgot what even brings us joy and can't even answer the simple question of what we like to do for fun. it's all because we don‘t even know how to put ourselves first. 

We simply have to stop making being everyone and everything our thing. 

I know we love doing a lot and having everything in order, and making sure everyone else is enjoying life to the fullest, but we need to fill our cups first. You want the good life, well you need to take responsibility for your life. Yes, you who consider yourself the responsible one.  Creating the life that you desire is no one else’s responsibility but yours. You cannot create the life you want if you keep getting in the way of yourself by thinking and caring too much about others. I’m talking about caring what people think as well as putting the needs of others above yours. It’s all good to care for others, but not to your detriment. No sense in telling you about caring less about your reputation and the light you are seen in, but it should be in regard to the path created and chosen by you, not the one dictated and forced upon you. 

Show up for yourself. Everyone is responsible for themselves. You doing more for others than yourself does not put you in a better light. And you may be harming others. Not letting them achieve their best by doing for self. 

And let me tell you, you're talking about being happy, preserving your peace, living the good life. Only putting yourself first is going to do that for you.  It will help you:

• Be more productive
• Be happier and more joyful
• Have more energy
• Receive more respect from others
• Improve your relationships
• Help you experience less fear and be more confident
• You’ll suffer from less stress
• You’ll feel less resentment

These are just some of the benefits you will experience once you start putting yourself first. Otherwise, by not putting yourself first, you’re just sabotaging your success.

So maybe you are wondering how to put yourself first. Here are a few healthy ways and tips I’ve experienced that can help you develop the habit of putting yourself first.

Choose Your Purpose

Having a clear purpose in life is essential. It is the simplest, most basic thing everyone needs to live a fulfilling satisfying life. 

Live By A Vision

Putting yourself first also requires that you develop a clear vision of the life that you want to lead. To get clear about your vision, start reflecting on these important questions:

Who do I want to be?

What do I want to do?

How do I want to feel?

Set Personal Goals and Plan

Setting personal goals will significantly help ensure your vision becomes a reality.

Stay Learning

It is so important to continuously learn about new things if you want to experience optimal joy. We are never going to know everything. There’s beauty in finding out about different things, and this is also how we create new experiences. You really just have to be open-minded. Additionally, as you come up with your goals and start to develop your vision, you are going to find that you need to learn new skills to make your ideal life a reality.

Set Personal Boundaries

Setting personal boundaries is a skill you’ll need to master when learning how to put yourself first because you will need to learn how to say no and preserve your time, peace, and energy every step of your journey as you create and maintain your vibrant and joy-filled life. You can say no politely, but you’ve got to say it firmly, and mean it and stick to it. Setting personal boundaries is a vital skill and habit because it enables you to defend your time and your rights, which is an essential component of putting yourself first.

Get Out And About And Exercise

If you don’t take care of your health, you’ll be unable to live your purpose or fulfill your life’s vision. Put yourself and your health first by starting a program of regular exercise as soon as possible if you are not already doing so. You don’t have to train for a marathon, but at least get out for a nice daily walk or whatever gets you moving.

Eat Healthily

Your eating habits are equally as important as your body’s need to exercise, if not more important. Eating a nutritious diet is a huge part of taking care of your health and putting yourself first. Just don't get overwhelmed with trying to drastically change your fitness and diet. You’ll only stress yourself out and either slow your progress or end up not achieving your health and fitness goals at all.

Get Some Sleep

You need to recover, recharge - replenish your energy through sleep. By getting enough sleep, you’ll be better equipped to face the challenges of the new day with greater confidence, energy, and enthusiasm.

Schedule Relaxation and Downtime

Sometimes you are just going to be tired, and lack the energy to live your ultimate life. Rather than just trying to push through, you need to give yourself grace and some time to again, recover. Being on the go all the time is exhausting. Being busy doesn’t equate to being successful. Try to engage in activities, such as meditation and yoga that will help reduce fatigue. Schedule naps in. A consistent relaxation routine will help you stay energized and not burn out.

Get Your Finances In Order

Money will stress you out. Know where you’re money is coming from, when it’s coming in, and where it’s going. If you have issues with money, you need to resolve them ASAP. And it’s not always about not having money, or money to spend. What you should aim to do is consciously spend it on what serves you.

Simplify

Let it go. Stop holding on to things and people that do not serve you. Get rid of unnecessary and toxic noise and people in your life. They are clutter. And clutter has so many forms, mental, physical, and digital, right? Of course, the physical clutter will always lead to mental clutter. You cant’ flourish and blossom when crap is sitting, lying, standing on, and smothering your roots. Open up space for the things that bring your joy and move you closer toward your goals. 

Journal Your Thoughts, Plans, and Accomplishments

When you feel you have a lot to do and you are overwhelmed with too many thoughts and ideas, journaling will help clear your head. It can also lead to better self-awareness, which is the foundation of putting yourself first. I am very big on journaling just about everything. It’s how I got into creating printables. As a matter of fact, I’ve included a link to a free journal that will give you prompts and space to write down things that you can start implementing and make your success habits in regard to putting yourself first. Grab the link in the episode show notes, or by going to the stayontheglow.com website. It’s free. Journal however you like. Whatever moves you and helps you see and get to the path of putting yourself first. 

Practice Daily Gratitude

Take some time each day to reflect on the positives in your life. All that is going right. So many times we focus on what is wrong or isn’t ideal, that we don’t take the time to notice or appreciate all that is good and working for us. Thanks and situations that may be serving us now, where there is no need to worry or burn ourselves out trying to get something else. Putting yourself first, and prioritizing your well-being involves adopting a positive attitude and identifying and being appreciative of the positives in your life. We talked about journaling. Each day, I want you to write down what you are grateful for in your life and what was positive and “went right” in your day. As you find the time to write down and reflect on all the things you are grateful for each day, you will reduce your stress levels and naturally find more and more to be grateful for in your life. Instant joy right there!