“Place your mask on first before assisting others.” Anyone who has flown commercially and sat through the safety briefing (and actually listened to it) has heard that phrase before. It instructs us in the scenario of the airplane losing cabin pressure and the oxygen masks drop down, put your own mask on first before helping someone else. This is actually quite important and a good analogy for helping others in other situations.
I happen to know a fair amount about the “why” behind these instructions because when I learned how to fly years ago this was covered in our flight training.
When an airplane is at cruising altitude, the air is very thin and oxygen is quite scarce. The masks in the plane replace the oxygen that is not present in the atmosphere. Without them, you would succumb to something called Hypoxia (basically a lack of oxygen) and pass out quickly, sometimes within just a matter of seconds. By placing your mask on right away, you are stabilizing your situation and giving you a position of strength or stability to help the person next to you who might be struggling. If you were to choose to help the other person prior to putting your mask on, you both might pass out.
The same is true when we are helping people in other situations. Whether it’s a friend, at home with our families, a client, leading our team at work, or even trying to help ourselves in our own lives. If you’re tired all of the time, you’re not at your best. You need that stability and strength so you can help or lead others in the manner that you really need to.
Ways of putting your mask on first include things such as getting enough rest, having balance in your life with family, activities and hobbies, taking care of yourself physically by exercising and eating right, reading, learning new skills, growing as a person and so much more.
These things will be different for each of us, but the main thing is to be aware of them and make the effort to take care of you so you can better take care of others.
What can you start doing today or this week to make sure you’re at your best?
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