When I was 10 years old, my mother told me something so important. She said, “you must always put yourself first.” She always believed in the importance of the airplane instructions to put your own mask on first, and she knew that following that mantra would make her a good mother.

She was right.

Now, last week, I forgot that. I was so busy putting the mask on other people that I damn near suffocated. It wasn’t until a week had gone by and I finally had a minute to breathe that I remembered my mother’s words. I had to get quiet and come back to my routine and place of peace.

When life takes over (as it has a tendency to do), what do you do to take back the reigns?