5 Reasons to Meet Your Own Needs

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What if the secret to becoming the father your children need starts with taking better care of yourself? Join us for a transformative episode of 15 Minutes with Dad, where we explore the powerful connection between self-care and thriving in fatherhood. Guided by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we tackle the often-overlooked essentials: quality sleep, proper nutrition, and emotional well-being. Discover practical strategies to improve your mental health, develop healthy habits, and build both financial and emotional stability—laying the foundation for leading your family with renewed purpose and confidence.

Embrace authenticity and genuine connection as we dive deeper into the art of intentional parenting. This episode shines a light on how living true to yourself can strengthen relationships with your children, current partners, and even co-parenting ex-partners. Learn how supportive communication and emotional resilience foster trust and respect, and how vulnerability—when used with intention—becomes a powerful leadership tool as a dad.

This isn’t just about surviving the chaos of fatherhood; it’s about embracing the journey, transforming challenges into opportunities, and becoming the father your children admire.

Take the first step toward a more fulfilled, connected family life. Tune in, choose one area to improve this week, and experience how small changes lead to powerful results.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back to another episode of 15 Minutes
with Dad, the podcast where wedig into real strategies, real
conversations and real growth tohelp you step into your best
self as a father.
I'm your host, lyric Williams,a career visual and performing
artist, professional datasystems director, author and,
most importantly, a fathernavigating the journey of a

(00:22):
blended family life with fouramazing kids.
Today we're diving into episodefour of the U2.0 series and
we're talking about buildingyour foundation, meeting your
basic needs as a father.
Let's get real.
How often do you put your ownneeds last?
How often do you feel drained,stretched thin and then like

(00:46):
you're constantly running onempty?
As fathers, we give so much toour families, but if we're not
taking care of ourselves, wecannot show up fully for them.
In today's episodes, we'regoing to break down Maslow's
hierarchy of needs and applydirectly to fatherhood.
You'll learn why prioritizingyour physical and emotional and

(01:07):
personal well-being isn'tselfish.
It's essential for becoming thefather your kids need.
We'll also cover practicalstrategies to make sure you're
taking care of your health, yourrelationships and your personal
growth.
If you've ever felt like you'rejust surviving instead of
thriving, this episode is foryou.

(01:30):
Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
What is it?
It's a psychological theorythat explains what humans need
to function at their best.
It's typically shown as apyramid, starting with the basic
physical needs at the bottomand moving up towards
self-actualization at the top.
But when applied to fatherhood,it highlights something crucial

(01:51):
Basically, if you're notmeeting your basic needs, it's
nearly impossible to be fullypresent for your family.
Let's break it down.
Number one physiological needs.
That's like food, sleep andyour health.
If you're running on fumes,skipping meals, ignoring your
health, your patience and yourenergy will suffer.

(02:11):
A second one would be safetyneeds.
That's financial stability,stress management and if you're
constantly worried aboutfinances or your stability, that
stress will spill over intoyour home life.
The third one is love andbelonging.
That's relationships andconnections.
If you're feeling isolated,it's hard to be emotionally

(02:32):
available for your kids.
Number four is esteem.
That's your confidence, yourgrowth and your self-respect.
If you don't believe inyourself, it's tough to set a
strong example for your children.
And self-actualization at thetop.
Number five becoming your bestself.
This is where we thrive.

(02:54):
This is where we're not justsurviving but truly leading our
families with purpose.
Now I like how Jim Murphy breaksit down, because he takes
Maslow's hierarchy of needs andalso apply them to what inner
excellence is, which is thefoundation of this U2.0 series.

(03:14):
It talks about this concept ina different way.
He says you can't give what youdon't have.
If you want to lead withconfidence, clarity and love,
you'll have to fill your cupfirst.
You have to fill your own cupfirst.
So let's talk about how toapply this to your life as a
father.

(03:36):
All right, so too many of us getstuck in the cycle of
neglecting our own needs becausewe feel like we don't have time
or, worse, we feel guilty forputting ourselves first.
Sometimes we skip meals, sleepto just to grind harder.
We suppress emotions instead ofdealing with them and we pour

(03:57):
into everyone else and leavenothing for ourselves.
As a result, we burn out, webecome irritable, distant and
emotionally unavailable, ourhealth declines, our patience
wears thin and our ability to befully present for our kids
takes a hit.
It doesn't have to be this way.

(04:17):
Meeting your needs isn't aluxury, it's a responsibility.
Your kids don't just need aprovider, they need a father who
is whole, healthy and engaged.
So let's break down fivepractical ways to start
prioritizing yourself so you canshow up stronger for your
family.

(04:39):
Number one take care of yourbody.
That's the physiological needs.
Why does it matter?
Your energy, patience andpresence start with how well you
take care of your body.
What can you do?
You can sleep more at least sixto eight hours, so you're not
running on empty.
Make some time for movement.
Even a 10-minute walk can clearyour mind and eat real food.

(05:02):
Fuel your body like it matters,because it does.
And what's crazy to me,something I've noticed lately,
before I even move on, is thatat this age of 35, a lot of
people on social media andpeople that I know are literally
Men, are dying by the age of 65.

(05:22):
That's below life expectancy,like 59.
Between 59 and 65, men areliterally croaking because
they're not taking care of theseparticular needs.
But Jim Murphy reminds us, yourbody is your vehicle in this
life.
If you neglect it, you limiteverything you can do.

(05:47):
Number two create a financialand emotional stability.
Create your safety needs.
Stress about your money or lifeuncertainties can make you
short-tempered, distracted andemotionally drained.
So what can you do?
Set up a simple financial plan,track your expenses, set small
saving goals, practice stressmanagement, deep breathing,

(06:10):
journaling and even therapy,which is a big point.
I think therapy helps for sure.
Have a game plan for toughsituations.
Knowing your next move reducesanxiety and decision fatigue.
A stable father creates astable home.
You don't have to have it allfigured out, but having a plan
makes a huge difference.

(06:33):
The next one is strengthen yourrelationships, love and
belonging.
That's the need of one of thehierarchy of needs.
A father who feels connected isa father who can give love
freely.
So spend intentional time withyour kids.
Quality matters more thanquantity.
Stay connected with positiveinfluence.
Other dads, mentors, closefriends.

(06:54):
Join Facebook groups likeFatherhood Fraternity.
Communicate with your partner orco-parent openly.
It's not about winning.
It's about teamwork.
That's a hard one to get openly.
It's not about winning.
It's about teamwork.
That's a hard one to get over.
Easier said than done.
But Jim Murphy says greatrelationships don't happen by
accident.
You have to nurture them likeanything else worth having.

(07:18):
The fourth one would be to buildself-confidence and respect.
Your kids look up to you, andif you believe in yourself, they
will too.
So acknowledge your wins, bigor small, because they all
matter.
Speak positively about yourself.
Your self-talks influence yourmindset.
Keep confidence, keep promisesto yourself.

(07:42):
Whether it's hitting the gym orspending time with your kids,
consistency builds confidenceFor me.
I have vowed to spend more timeworking out and I vowed to spend
more time doing BrazilianJiu-Jitsu because I want to
compete by the end of the year.
Y'all can hold me to that.
I just put that out on thepodcast.
Y'all can hold me to that.
Check in with me, see if I, youknow, reach out to me Lyric

(08:04):
Williams, and say, hey, allright, did you compete yet?
And then I'll be like, allright, let me get back to this,
let me get in the gym.
So hold me accountable.
And the last one is invest inyour growth.
The best fathers are alwayslearning and evolving, and if
you're listening to this podcast, you're trying to do that too.

(08:25):
Read books that challenge you,and a book that challenged me is
Jim Murphy's.
Inner Excellence had mecompletely ripped to shreds who
I thought I was, and by the timeI finished that book, I am so
empowered.
I've accomplished even greatthings since finishing that book
.
It ripped away theprocrastination that I relied on

(08:49):
quite a bit.
But you get to learn new skillsthat make you better, make you
a better leader and a father, abetter father.
Set your personal goals.
You're not just a dad, you're aman with a purpose, and if you
don't have a purpose, this U2.0will get you there.
So when you take time to grow,you inspire your kids to do the

(09:09):
same thing.
Before leaving here today, Iwant you to remember that
fatherhood isn't just about whatyou give.
It's about how well you takecare of yourself so you can give
your best.
Today, we talked about whymeeting your own needs is
crucial and five strategies tobuild a strong foundation for
yourself and your family.

(09:30):
So here's your challenge Pickone area your health, finances,
relationship, confidence orpersonal growth and take action
this week.
If you're enjoying this series,visit 15minuteswithdadcom, and
next week we'll be discussingembracing authenticity living
true to yourself and your family.

(09:51):
We're going to be focusing onauthenticity in everyday life.
Discuss how embracing your trueself creates deeper, more
meaningful connections with yourkids and ex-partners and your
current partners.
We're going to talk about therole of genuine self-expression
in building trust and respect,practical ways to communicate
honestly with your children,co-parents and current partners,

(10:12):
and how vulnerability canbecome a strength rather than a
weakness.
So subscribe to 15 Minutes withDad and follow us at at 15
minutes with dad on allstreaming platforms.
And until next time, take careof yourself, because your family
needs the best version of you.