November is National Family Caregiver month.  This is a great time to take a look at your life and not only assess what you do for others, but how and when you do things.  More important, what are you doing for yourself?  Many times we fall into the role of taking are of others and forget that we still need to take care or ourselves.

In the book Life Choices – Putting the Pieces Together, I contributed one story called “A Caregiver’s Nightmare:  Mirror Image.”  In this story I share a very powerful lesson of self care.  One which I overlooked for many years.  At the end of the story I share with readers the questions I now ask myself before I say “YES” to taking on another task.  Those questions are as follows:

Do I want to do (task) for (name of person)?

Am I motivated by love, fear, or guilt?

Am I doing what I am doing because it is expected of me?

Is it what I want to give of myself?

Does doing this feel right to me?

Will doing this make me feel good and why?

And my favorite questions is…..

Am I putting more effort into this than they are?

Life Choices a book of 26 inspiring and courageous stories written by various authors; by Turning Point International.  Judi Moreo is the woman behind the series.  For more information you can go here