Sometimes I think the hardest thing is focusing on yourself.

And I mean this in two different ways.

I mean that sometimes it is hard to say “no” to other people and instead put yourself first and focus on your own wants and needs.

And two, that sometimes it is hard to drown out all of the criticism and doubts that come from other people.

But whether or not it is hard to drown out all the noise, there are times when it is absolutely necessary that you do.

Sometimes you just need to focus on you and say screw the world!

And it isn’t easy to do that.

I still haven’t mastered how to say “no” to people when I really don’t want to do something. I get myself into situations where I’m overstressed and finally just crash because I can’t handle it all. Usually that crash involves lots of tears and maybe a chick flick or two.

But I really can’t let it keep getting to that point. And logically I know this.

So what am I going to do about it?

I’m going to remind myself that if I never say “no” I’m doing anyone a favor. Most of the time when you do something for someone when you don’t want to, you will end up not giving it your all.

So I just have to remind myself that saying “no,” even just every once in a while when I feel myself about to crash, will keep everything from totally falling apart. I will be able to give everything my all since I won’t ever crash since I will have occasionally looked out for myself.

This is a VERY important point for MOTHERS to consider. I know a ton of women who put everyone in their life ahead of themselves. Many of these women NEVER take time for themselves and they end up crashing because of it.

And crashing can mean a ton of different things for different people. It can be emotional breakdowns. Stress eating. Weight gain. Weight loss. Illness even.

None of these things are good.

And all of them could have been avoided if the person just said “NO” every once in a while.

So think about taking some time for yourself. It could help not only yourself but also everyone else in your life.

I mean think about it….which is worse, saying no to one thing or finally crashing and potentially being out of commission for a while? I know it always takes me a couple of days when I’ve become totally mentally drained to get back on track…..

Now…the second part of the drowning out the noise equation – Ignoring the criticism and negativity that comes from other people.

This isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to brush off the negative comments that other people make about you.

My question to you is, “Why should you listen to them?”

You shouldn’t. People that need to criticize and never compliment you aren’t worth listening to you.

Why aren’t they worth listening to? Because they are obviously jealous or insecure themselves and are just TRYING to hurt you.

And here I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to the advice of others. I’m just saying you need to block out the comments that are obviously just meant to put you down.

I’ve gotten criticized by other trainers for my diet and even my workouts. But I don’t let them make me insecure about what I’m doing.

I’ve gotten great results and so have all of my clients. No I’m not saying my program will work for everyone, but it DOES work.

I won’t let the fact that another trainer doesn’t like it or that they are insecure about their own training program deter me.

I won’t let their negativity hurt me because I BELIEVE in myself. I have CONFIDENCE.

Of course developing this confidence is a whole other post, but it starts with occasionally taking a step back and DROWNING OUT ALL THE NOISE.

That is what it all comes down to – Focusing on yourself if even just for a minute and ignoring everyone else around you.

To help myself drown out the noise, I do something FOR myself.

I plug in my headphones and bust out an intense workout that just totally drains me. Or I watch a mindless movie and ignore all of the chores that need to be done.

Or I even just simply sit somewhere quiet and write a post for Man Bicep.

It’s not self-centered to take some time for yourself! It is honestly absolutely necessary!

How do you take time for yourself? How do you drown out all the noise?