The Cuckoo's Egg Paradox

Do you know this? The tendency to make other people's problems your own?

I call this the cuckoo's egg paradox. As is well known, the cuckoo lays its eggs in the nests of other birds and then lets them hatch them. The hatched cuckoo chicks are then usually larger and hungrier and displace their own chicks.

On a psychological level, it is easy for us to pay full attention to other people's smaller worries and needs, neglecting our own. Worse, sometimes our needs are pushed so far to the edge of consciousness that they literally fall out of the nest.

People who have developed the inner urge to "please everyone" at a young age are particularly susceptible to this.

So how do I prevent myself from prioritizing the concerns of others and neglecting my own?

Interestingly, the key to this is not to trivialize or dismiss one's worries, but to adopt a positive attitude towards them. To realize that I also count and that it is important to take care of myself. To face my suffering with self-care and at the same time acknowledge that others also have their own suffering. The art lies in developing compassion for another person without making their problems my own.
 
To whom or what do I want to devote my attention and care next, perhaps to myself?