The Personal Golden Rule

A few days ago, I had a really interesting conversation with a seasoned Ag educator and farmer about farmer stress and supporting farmers. He was talking about the Golden Rule—you know, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”—and he asked me a question that has really stuck with me.

“If,” he asked “we all pretty much agree that we should treat other people the way we would want them to treat us, then why don’t we treat ourselves the same way we would like others to treat us?”

That really struck me. The Personal Golden Rule, as I’ve started to think of it. Many of us are not very good at it at all. We try to be kind, and thoughtful and helpful to others, but don’t give ourselves the same grace.

When we’re trying our best, we would never want someone to tell us we aren’t working hard enough, or are making dumb decisions. We would never want someone to say we shouldn’t take a water break, or stop to eat the healthy food we need, or get some sleep.  We wouldn’t let someone else do that to us—so why do we let ourselves do that to us?

Inside of each of us is something worthy and important. The world needs that—the world needs each of us. And the world needs each of us being the best possible version of ourselves. We each have a responsibility to take care of the valuable person that we are. Taking care of our bodies and our minds, being healthy and safe, showing ourselves some kindness, is important. In fact, it’s not just important, it’s a responsibility, a moral imperative we each have to ourselves and to each other.

So, do unto yourself as you would have others do unto you. Be respectful, be caring, be generous, give a break–to yourself.  You deserve it. The world needs you to keep thriving!