Sometimes I'm just not selfish enough

I can remember several times during my life where I was extremely fit. I focused on health, fitness and exercise. If I loved it, I played it, if I enjoyed it, I did it. Sport played a huge part in my life and it showed.

Now I'm just not selfish enough. I fall prey to other people's expectations over my time and I "give in" and give up my exercise time. I tell myself I'll pick it up again tomorrow, or go for a walk in the morning instead.

It's wrong, I shouldn't do that. I shouldn't have to do that.

Earlier in my life I didn't realise that I had in fact done that. To me I felt that I had to change focus. For one I left school, so organised sport was no longer part of my "normal" day. But I loved the feeling that exercise gave me, so I took up competitive tennis (albeit it not at a very high level) - I played against the blokes so I could improve my returns and my ground strokes. But it was outdoor so during the cold / wet / windy months of a British winter I had to find something else to do. After school I also got a full time job, my boyfriend became my partner and we took on a mortgage, then we married, I worked full time, studied part time, gained my degree, and a couple of years later the babies were born. 

Each major change in my life meant I had to refocus and find some new way to keep fit, keep healthy which I did in the beginning, but injury, operations, "age" and other people's expectations makes me feel like I am swimming through treacle.

If something is important to us, and I mean "REALLY" important - we should never allow anything or anyone to stand in the way.

We should (and by we I mean - ME too) make appointments with ourselves and advise anyone else that we are booked during these times - and NO you really can't change your appointment.

I need to learn how to say no. How about you?