It’s Not About Me

Posted: May 17, 2011 at 6:22 pm

I think we all need to take time for ourselves. We all should make the effort to care for our personal needs and do what fulfills us. It’s part of following dreams and living to the fullest. Yet, I find myself thinking of something our pastor said during our church service. He stated an idea so simple and straight-forward, yet so vitally important.

It’s not about me.

I know I have plenty of selfish tendencies. It’s human nature to not want to put others first. Or to put God first. Or to look at the overarching reach our actions may have outside of ourselves. However, I know I can’t deny my life bringing me more joy when I do approach things in that manner. It’s not about me.

Tonight, I want to remember…

My body is not all about me. My body is about treating it with love and care so it can live a full life and have health, strength, and vitality to be there for others.

My blog is not all about me. My blog is here to hopefully motivate, encourage, inspire, and give back to others even the smallest bit. As you all so often give back to me…more than you can know.

FFF Business Card Frontside

My (our family’s) income is not all about me (us). It is about giving back because every cent belongs to God and not to us. We must pay forward the blessings He has poured upon us.

giving back source

My time is not all about me. My time is about appreciating my chance to live and to use opportunities to spread love and fully experience life as God intended.

time wisely source

Yes – I must care for myself and my own personal needs, as I did with fitting in a workout for my sanity…but it’s still not all about me. It’s about ensuring I can become the best version of myself, only so I can give more of myself to others. It’s not all about me. And I don’t mind it at all.

What is something outside of yourself that brings you great joy and fulfillment?

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43 Comments to “It’s Not About Me”
  1. I love this. You know, most of what I do is about my family and others. When I cook, it’s not about me. It’s about sharing with others and nourishing my family. Even something like working out that would seem to be about me isn’t. It’s about being healthy and the best I can be so I can be with my family and take care of them.

  2. Volunteering with Girls on the Run….helping girls work hard to reach a goal all while developing healthy habits and self esteem…is an amazing thing.

  3. Kelley says:

    This is very true. But don’t forget that sometimes, it CAN (and should) be just about you. You deserve it once in a while! 🙂

    • Tina says:

      Agreed! We have to care fully for ourselves too…but it’s kind of a big circle in my mind. Caring for myself allows me to have more patience, compassion, strength, etc to return more to others as well. So caring for myself still cares for others in the long run. I love how it all plays out. 🙂

  4. I love this–so true and beautiful. When you start thinking outside of yourself, you begin to see how beautiful life really is.

  5. *love* this. My job is not about me it is about helping and motivating others to want to change their lives for the better. There is abs. nothing better than hearing someone else say you have given their life new direction.

  6. Ela says:

    Beautiful–I love the idea of paying blessings forward.

    Preparing food for others that I don’t eat myself is something that feels so joyful to me. So does doing editing work for someone that I know will really help them.
    love
    Ela

  7. Parita says:

    I took a lot away from this post. You are so right…it is not really about you, even when you think it is. I think any time I spend with family and friends brings me the greatest joy and fulfillment.

  8. Your lines about your family’s income made me think of my church. We are tithers, and in our church, every time our pastor says it’s time for the offering, we all cheer. It’s hilarious – but didn’t God say he liked a “cheerful giver”? I swear I’m not in a cult.

  9. GREAT post. Such a simple concept, yet so easy to forget. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the small/silly things going on in your life instead of remembering that we are all on this earth for a greater purpose. God is great. 🙂

  10. Tina I love these reflective posts — sometimes I get so caught up in the me me me that I need to stop and remember that what I do is for others.

  11. Lauren says:

    Ah this is so true! It’s so often that we get so consumed in thinking that everything in our lives has to do with our own needs when its not always the case. Love these posts Tina! 🙂

  12. lindsay says:

    Tina, this is why I love you and your blog! True words of inspiration. God gave you a great gift that allows you to show such selfless love to your family, friends, and us. thank you sweet friend.
    I love being by my husbands side. I’ll do anything to help him grow his passion/career. It gives me such joy!

    • Tina says:

      I love you for that. Your commitment to being there for him is so touching. What a blessed relationship the two of you share. 🙂

  13. Great post Tina. Always an inspiration!

  14. Robyn says:

    Thanks for the reminder, Tina. Excellent insight. Have a great trip to Fit Bloggin!

  15. this post really struck a chord with me! loved it!!

  16. You’re right. While it’s important to nurture yourself and your own needs, there are always people around you effected by your choices!

  17. Lauren says:

    Love this! It’s so easy to think about my needs, but I always love the reminder that it’s not about me. Even though I don’t have much money as a college student to give back, I can give my time, energy, and smiles back to the community.

  18. I need my own personal Tina to keep me down at reality! I love your reflective posts.

    • Tina says:

      Haha! I shall produce a line of Tina bobble-heads with motivational readings of posts. Although that would creep me out. LOL

  19. Janelle says:

    We repeat “it’s not about us.” daily at work. Applies to so many things…

  20. What a beautiful post; I just found your blog and it’s wonderful. I really enjoyed reading your post today as life is all about giving back and helping others. So happy to have found you!

  21. What a wonderful post!

    I love to volunteer, it is such a hands on way to see how important and meaningful it is to give back 🙂

  22. amen to every one of these, but especially the one about my body is not my own. it’s biblical and true, and my body is not about me. it’s about treasuring the blessing that God has given me and being able to take care of my family. that’s not something i ever thought i’d realize when i was younger, but am so thankful to know it now!

  23. The other day I was reading in the Bible that Nothing is about us and , therefore, we shouldn’t worry so much about our own needs. Instead, we should focus healping other and worrying abiut them in order to forget about our lacks.

    More then than, it said that one must live in present and stop complaing about future problems, cause future is in His hands.

    I thought that doing charity is about my soul, but it is about the hope that comes with that piece of food that I give .

    Thank you !

    • Tina says:

      I always get so much when serving others. A lot of times you go in expecting to help…but the people you serve have such a strong faith they help me more by inspiration. It’s amazing how that works, huh?

  24. What a thoughtful post reminding all of us what is important- we do all know this but nice to be reminded because it is so easy to get caught up in it all!

  25. Kara says:

    I love this, especially the part about my body not being all about me. It’s so easy to get caught up in what you want your body to do that you can lose sight of what your body wants to do. Some people need an injury to remind themselves, but it’s better to realize it before that happens!

  26. I love this more than I could probably say.

    It’s a message that is so counter-cultural, and yet so incredibly important to realizing about his life here on earth.

    I often, minute-by-minute have to remind myself that this life is NOT about me.

    It’s about His glory. That’s it.

  27. You only get what you give, right? 🙂 Nice post. I get joy when my hubby is happy. If he gets special recognition from his boss, enjoys a good time with his buddies, or whatever it is, I am happy when he’s happy.

  28. Sarah says:

    I so appreciate the message in this post.
    My “thing” outside of myself that brings me fulfillment is my recent work with 31 Bits and orphan adoption. It’s about seeing families thrive and individuals thrive IN families.
    I’m not sure where this path is taking me, but I do believe it is a gift and a privilege from God.

  29. This post is soooo true…and let me tell you, your blog IS an inspiration for other people 🙂

  30. I remind myself that it isn’t all about me everyday. In fact, I get uncomfortable if someone tries to make something all about me. I love making healthy meals for Hubbs, making sure Koda gets enough exercise and that I’m working hard to contribute to our family and the little life I’m growing 🙂

  31. AMEN Tina!! Love this!! We are living for His glory and it’s too easy to get all caught up and forget that!! Thank you so much for this awesome post- God is seriously speaking to us through you and I LOVE it! 😀

  32. jobo says:

    I love this. You gotta put it into perspective sometimes and look at it differently to realize that what we do, isn’t all for us all the time, there is a secondary meaning or goal. Well put.

  33. Karolina says:

    This is a really wonderful post! I wrote a post entitled “It’s not about me!” back in April, although it’s a different twist on the phrase. You can check it out here:

    http://counselormusings.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-not-about-me.html

  34. […] It’s Not About Me at Faith Fitness Fun – After you read Kellie’s post above about becoming the best you, read Tina’s post about how it’s not all about you! We are placed on this earth to become the best version of ourselves so that we can give more to others as God intended. […]

  35. What a great post! Your blog is always so inspiring 🙂 I like the idea of being the best person you can be, for those around you! I think that’s a powerful idea 🙂

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