The Oxygen Mask Principle: 3 Tips to Make Self Care a Priority

In our busy lives with the demands of relationships, work, children, the home, and many other things, self-care often comes last, if at all.

If you’ve ever flown on a plane then surely you’ve heard the flight attendant give the safety demonstration on what to do if the oxygen masks drop. “If there’s a drop in cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop down in front of you. … Be sure to secure yours before you help anyone else.”

This concept does not only apply to flying and is actually an incredible analogy for life. It is called the “Oxygen Mask Principle” and is of great use when applied to self-care, self-love and the ability to give your best to others.

If you don’t take time to honor your personal needs before attending to the needs of others, then you’ll soon realize, much to your dismay, that you have completely neglected yourself. 

Self neglect comes in many forms including not acknowledging your emotional needs as well as your physical needs. And each time you deny your own needs, you send the message to your brain that you are not worthy of your own time or love, which creates a whole slew of emotional imbalances.

As you feel more whole within yourself, you will begin to happily give your time and energy to the people and things that matter in your life. This really is a win-win situation!

Tips for Self-care

1. Once a day, when you know you’ll have a break in obligations, make the effort to unplug, disconnect and tune-out to the world and go within. Close doors, tell people you’re unavailable and do whatever it is that will make you the happiest. Even if it’s just 5 minutes.

2. If your schedule is crazy, then schedule some time in for yourself. And not pencil in, permanent marker that time! Exercising the willpower of keeping your “date” with yourself will send positive messages to your brain that you are indeed worthy of your own love and attention.

3. Practice Belly Button Healing to deeply connect with yourself, quickly. This revolutionary technique helps you get in touch with your authentic self and your emotions in just 5-minutes a day. Not only will your find emotional balance, but you will also strengthen the mind-body connection that will help you return to this space when you feel lacking in self-love.

Emotions play a large role in our lives and if we don’t take time to honor what we feel, we will begin to feel less connected to ourselves. We may bury emotions deep within because we feel we don’t have to time to deal with them with everything else going on, but this can be catastrophic to our physical and mental health.

Danielle Gaudette, master healer with a huge heart, has launched a live mini-course series on CYE called Emotional Management & Inner Self Development. This 5-part series is an incredible tool to honor yourself and your needs.

You can learn more about this interesting principle and how to apply it to your life in the upcoming book The Brain Power Classroom. Author Dave Beal uses "The Oxygen Mask Principle" to emphasize how important it is for parents and teachers to take care of their own physical, emotional and mental health to better serve their children and students.