The Art of Looking After #1
By Mrs Jackie ThompsonThroughout my entire Army career, I was always told to look after #1, but there comes a caveat to this saying, in the Army you have the guy to your left and right, these are your Brothers, this is where selfless commitment, bravery and honesty come in to play, especially when you are on Tour or in a War time satiation.
Growing up as a youth I never got to hear those words, as most of the time my youth was spent outdoors, playing till the sun went down and the street lights came on, I never had any worries about looking after #1 because I was having too much fun.
As I get older, looking after #1 begins to surface, I just didn't understand the concept, even after I left school and started a job did I hear the phrase "You should always look after #1", told to me by my old boss, the day I left work to start my basic training.
Looking after #1 does not mean that you are a selfish person, as there are quite a few subjects that fall within the remit of looking after yourself. These include the following:
Appearance - I have always been quite self conscious about how I dress, the clothes I wear (especially on the golf course, my wife tells me I look like a pimp sometimes lol). Appearance can also have a huge impact in your life, from attending your very first job interview to taking your new partner out on your first date, we are often judged by the clothes we wear, how we wear them and for some the price tag that comes with an item of clothing, some say that you can tell a lot about a man by the shoes he wears and how he takes care of them.
Hygiene - Personal hygiene is what it says on the tin, it is personal to yourself. I like to think that my personal hygiene is well above par, I take showers on a regular basis, especially after I have worked out in my mini gym, I keep my nails trimmed and I shave most days, after nearly 24 years of shaving every single day, I sort of relaxed on removing my facial hair and let my sideburns grow below my ears (my Sargent Major would have a fit if he saw me now). There can be issues that happen in your life that could prevent you from looking after your hygiene, illness, a disability, mental health or just pure laziness or poor living conditions, some of these can be excused, others cannot. Either way we owe it to ourselves to take care of our personal hygiene, after all we only have one skin and taking care of that is paramount.
Health and Wellbeing - My health and wellbeing is, above everything, the most important thing in my life because at the end of the day it is my health that dictates my life span, pretty simple really, as much as we take care of our personal hygiene, it is even more essential that we take care of our health and wellbeing. Looking after #1, when health is concerned should be at the top of the list, we don't get a second chance at life so any kind of illness should be addressed as soon as possible, and I have always believed in prevention is better than cure. We have state of the art hospital facilities, an NHS that is envied by the world and medicines that can cure most, if not all the diseases found in the 21st century.
Mental health is becoming a major issue and not only affects the individual but can have a massive impact within a working environment, I have had first hand experience with regards to mental health, my father suffered from a mental breakdown, I was very young at the time and found it difficult to understand but as I have grown older I have come to understand that talking is the best medicine.
Wealth - Wealth comes in many forms, not just monetary, we all dream about having more money than we could ever dream of, just think, never having the fear of losing your home because you already paid it of, never having to transfer money from one account to the next or even having to look at your bank balance. They say that money can't buy you happiness but having a huge amount certainly makes it easier or that money makes the world go round, never a true word spoken.
Some of us are born into money, that is no ones fault or that far too much money goes to talent, I'm talking about sports people, especially footballers.
I cannot comment on the topic of being rich, as I have never been in that situation, for most of us we work to make ends meet, we try to save so we can have the finer things in life but looking after #1, when it comes to money and wealth, is all about making sure you don't lose your home, keeping the car on the road, taking out all the necessary insurance that will cover you for any situation, having at least one holiday a year with the family.
Working in any kind of job isn't go to make you rich, I'm taking about the average person that works in a factory, a builder, trucker, a nurse and many other professions I could mention. You have to hustle, take risks, believe in yourself, work hard and smart, be committed, passionate and have the willingness to try new things that could change your life forever. Telling yourself that there has got to be something different out there is the first step to wanting to make a huge difference in your life.
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