Take Care of You

When my wife was pregnant with our first, I asked anyone I knew who had kids, what advice they could share with me. I wasn’t one of those people who said, “Well, there’s no manual when it comes to raising children.”

Nonsense. I knew there were hundreds of books about raising kids. So I read many of them. I also wanted to learn, first hand from parents I knew, what wins they had and what mistakes they’d made.

One piece of advice that’s relevant beyond parenting, came from a former boss of mine.

He told me, “Take care of you.”

Wow.

His coaching felt counterintuitive. If I love my kids, I should help them and give them whatever they need, right? Who cares about me?

But when I thought about it more, his advice was like the reminder the flight attendants give before the plane takes off.

“In the unlikely event that the cabin loses pressure, secure your oxygen mask first before helping others.”

It’s the same with leadership. You can’t lead people effectively if you’re totally depleted. You can’t motivate the team if you’re running on fumes.

I don’t know what “taking care of you” is for you. But you should. And you should do whatever it is.

If you’re on this list, you go all-in for the people around you. That’s great. Just make sure you’re also going all-in on you first.