If you grew up thinking you always had to take care of everyone else, and you’re finally, finally, finally, trying to take care of yourself, and the very first time you say no because you don’t want to put someone else’s needs above your own, and they call you selfish, take it as a compliment.
Most of us are not selfish. Most of us are giving, concerned, sensitive and helpful. But sometimes we need to be giving, concerned sensitive and helpful to ourselves first, even if it means upsetting others.
If we’re being called selfish today, it just might mean we’re doing the right thing. Be less you to be more you: try something new today.
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About dianabletter
Diana Bletter is the author of several books including The Invisible Thread: A Portrait of Jewish American Women (with photographs by Lori Grinker), shortlisted for a National Jewish Book Award, a novel, A Remarkable Kindness, (HarperCollins), a memoir, The Mom Who Took of on her Motorcycle, and The Loving Yourself Book for Women: A Practical Guide to Boost Self-Esteem, Heal Your Inner Child, and Celebrate the Woman You Are, an Amazon top-seller in several categories, and The Loving Yourself Workbook for Girls.
She is the First Prize Winner of Moment Magazine's 2019 Fiction Contest. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, tabletmag, Glamour, The Forward, The North American Review and is currently a reporter for The Times of Israel.
Diana and her husband have six children and an unofficially-adopted daughter from Ethiopia. They live in a small village on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Israel.
DIANA BLETTER 
As my children have grown older (16, 21) I am finally learning that I should be a bit more selfish and less at the ready to help them. Better for all of us!