Chances are the most important person in your life is not you–that would be too selfish. But the truth is, when you are happy and take care of yourself, you are better at caring for others and making them happy.

This post is inspired by the “Me” movement started by my colleague Rebecca Scrtichfield. Her idea is to get people thinking about their wellness first this holiday season; to give themselves the chance to stay healthy in this chaotic time of year while enjoying all the fun and food that comes along.

While we don’t celebrate the same holidays in our household and I don’t have a huge Christmas shopping list, this time of year is indeed stressful. I’m one month away from the end of the semester (grad school) and two months away from having my second baby. I’m going for Me First!

I love the movement, cruising through the holidays healthfully to avoid the frustration, regret, and putting too much faith in January resolutions. But I also believe that caring for yourself is a year-long goal. For all the moms out there, you know that being a mom doesn’t end with the holidays. And when mama’s happy, everyone else is happy. Don’t you agree?

Rebecca is asking everyone to choose their own goals and join the movement. They don’t have to be new goals. Sometimes, maintaining a healthy habit is harder than starting a new one. These are my goals:

Feed my body right. I will take the time to make healthy meals that taste good. But, I won’t give myself a hard time if I don’t every now and then and we end up with take-out pizza! I will eat dessert or non-nutritious foods occasionally, but they must be absolutely worth it. When I’m stressed, I’m not going to reach out to the pantry.

Allow myself to nap. I have to admit, I’ve been doing that lately, and this is one of the reasons I’ve been blogging less often–sorry my dear readers. The physical demand of being pregnant, running after a very active toddler, and not getting quality sleep at night give me no choice but to get some zzz during the day.

Give up being the ‘perfect’ everything–mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, dietitian, social media expert, student, etc. That doesn’t mean I will sit back and watch TV all day, but I can’t be the best at every one of those all at the same time. I need to take each step of my life one breath at a time. This is my toughest goal.

Put exercise high on my priorities. Gym time is “me” time. My son is happily playing with the train set at the child care while I get to work my muscles, stretch, Zumba dance, get my heart rate up, and focus on me. The two of us leave the gym happy.

Your Turn:

Visit Nurture Principles, choose your goals, sign a pledge, share it or don’t, and keep it somewhere you can see. If you are on Twitter, join the chat on Wednesdays 9 pm EST (#MeFirst).