Putting yourself first is being smart not selfish

Helping others feels nice but you shouldn't do it if helping would hurt you in any way. You can't give till it hurts you. You give what you can, if you can and only when you can. If you need to put yourself first just remember it's not being selfish it's being smart. The smartest thing for yourself and for everyone around you is for you to take care of yourself. You can't be there for others if you don't take care of yourself. To be the best you can be you have to do what is best for you. It is ok to tell someone I would if I could but I can't. You would be surprised to learn that even if you say no I can't that they can figure it out on their own. But if you always say yes then they figure you want to and they don't have to figure it out on their own. Why would they.? It is much easier to just let someone else do it. Don't wear yourself down doing more than you can handle especially if they don't even need you to. Instead of just doing it to help you need to wait until your help is needed.