The other day I was doing some reading and I came across this excerpt on how important it is to fill your own cup before you pour into others’. I love this concept and I think it is ESSENTIAL that we remember to take care of ourselves…but the notion of taking care of ourselves for the sole purpose of then taking care of (or filling the cups of) others…well, it seems a little skewed.
Why set ourselves up to have nothing (feel depleted) and need to go refill again… INSTEAD we should give others our overflow when it is available. There should not be a constant need to empty our own cups!
I love this idea.
Take care of yourself. Figure out what fills your cup. What makes you smile? What do you get lost in when given the opportunity? Hiking? Painting? Sports? Dancing? Reading? Cooking?
Listen, life is wacky and, of course, there will be times when your cup seems empty. Sometimes things are just hard. In those moments, try to shift your perspective and find gratitude where you can.
For the regular day-to-day routines, though…before you say YES to someone else, take inventory of where you are and how you feel. Will saying yes fill you up or deplete you? If you are not in a state of overflow, you may want to push pause to return to YOU.