President Harold B. Lee’s statement that our priorities should be (1) personal, spiritual, and physical health; (2) family responsibilities; (3) Church responsibilities; (4) career and community responsibilities. (Bishop’s Training Course and Self-Help Guide, pp. I-25, 26.) If I am to serve my family and others in a meaningful way, I need to be spiritually and physically fit.
At the other extreme are people so concerned about being unselfish that they exhaust themselves trying to please everyone. They continually put their needs and wants on the shelf in the interest of family, church callings, neighbors, and friends. It eventually takes a severe depression or other manifestation of stress before they see that it’s okay to request, even require, that others be sensitive to their needs some of the time. There comes a time when even the strongest must draw strength from others. Some of us find it much easier to extend rather than accept service. Yet, if we always put ourselves last, we rob others of the challenge and joy of giving.
Steve F. Gilliland, "Me and Thee: Finding Balance in Marriage", Ensign, Aug. 1987, 22
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