You may remember how in a 20/20 interview in 2011, Michelle Obama told Barbara Walters, "One of the things that I want to model for my girls is investing in themselves as much as they invest in others." She explained this concept in the now common, though incredibly apt metaphor of putting on your own oxygen mask on the plane before assisting others. How will you aid and improve the lives of those around you, if you don't make sure you have enough of what you need to operate at your best?
This concept can also be easily compared to giving your car fuel and oil so that you don't break down from attempting to run on empty, and it's called self-care. The World Health Organization gives a broad definition of the concept of self-care as "the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, and maintain health and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health-care provider."
In our contemporary pop culture, the concept has blossomed to include making sure to give yourself more of the things you need to be happy and cutting down on those self-sacrificing outlays of your valuable energy. The idea is that the happier, healthier, and more self-fulfilled you are, the more you'll have to give to the causes and people who matter most to you.
