A Healthy Role Model

I really like the idea of trying to be a good role model as a guide for making decisions. A lot of times I tell myself that I’ll allow a hit to my short-term physical or mental health by promising myself that I’ll repay that debt to myself in the future, but inevitably I end up repeatedly prolonging making whatever the healthy choice may be. At work, I get sucked in to trying to be a “hero”, doing it all, taking on too much responsibility without enough support or breaks etc - is this the behaviour I want to model to the people who are more junior than me? In my personal life it still seems absurd to me than anyone might look up to me enough to see what I do and think about copying it, but my little brother might - do I want to keep being neurotic and self-deprecating and proud, if I think he might emulate that? Obviously not - although hopefully by this point he is old enough to know to not do what I do.

It’s still not easy, but perhaps a new way of framing difficult choices should be: what would I advise someone I care about to do, where they in my situation?