Choose Guilt. Guilt is the healthy option.

When my baby was in the hospital, I didn’t want to leave his side, but I got so exhausted. I had to take a walk, talk to people and get into the sunshine.

How dare you do that when your baby has never felt the wind on his face? Isn’t that so wrong?

How dare I eat macaroons when my child cannot eat at all?

Neonatal units send mothers home so they can sleep overnight because they know they are prone to self-sacrifice.
I knew I had to take care of myself.
So I went swimming.
I felt guilty.
I could see the headlines “baby dying in lonely hospital whilst mother frolics in the pool.”

What’s the point of going swimming if you feel that guilty?
Might as well do the right thing and be with your baby.

If you don’t take care of yourself, you cannot be the person you need to be for your baby, partner, and yourself.
You might feel morally better as a martyr, but you are not providing more value.

Choose GUILT.
Guilt is a sign you are going beyond the socially acceptable, the personally acceptable. It is a sign you are going beyond the default setting. You are in growth. You are doing what you believe is important.
Success and guilt belong together.
Not because you’ve done anything wrong, but because you will outgrow the belief systems that hold most people back from going further.

Guilt is the healthy option. So choose guilt over martyrdom.

Never have I heard a relationship end because a partner felt too guilty looking after their world, but often have I seen relationships end because a partner overstepped their boundaries, sacrificed themselves and became resentful.

Choose the guilt of the bad conscience to do what is loving towards yourself.
Soon you will see that it makes sense.
Self-care makes sense and serves more than you.
You will have the capacity to give love, care and attention when needed.

You are human, and you are worthy of feeling good.
I have been a carer for 10 years now.
People ask me how I smile, run a successful business, raise my kids as a single parent, and care for medical needs.
I choose guilt over sacrifice.
It doesn’t make me perfect. It makes me healthy.