Don’t Forget to Fill Your Cup

Lifestyle & Home, Self-Care & Improvement

Some people are great at solving problems, listening, and being that rock when others are having a hard time. Those same people tend to keep standing strong no matter what happens or how tired they feel. I’m here to remind those people to fill your cup.

There is always that person, maybe it’s you, that people go to when they are having a hard time with life. Maybe they are great at solving problems no matter the situation. Maybe they are amazing at listening while you sort yourself out. Or maybe they are the ones that hold you up and remind you that you are worth it when you feel like life is falling apart. Those people tend to give and give and give without a second thought until their emotional cup sits empty.

They don’t always see it happening or maybe they think they can wait just a little longer. Just help this person out because they need it more. After this week, I was reminded how badly you need to stop and fill your cup up before it gets dry.

You can’t take care of others if you have nothing left to give.

This week was a hard reminder of how delicate that balance can be. One moment, you think you’re doing just fine, and the next, someone inadvertently sends what’s left in your emotional cup scattered to the winds. You suddenly realize that you no longer have anything to give anyone, much less yourself. It’s normally not intentional and the person that caused it likely doesn’t know how close to empty you were to begin with. It just happens.

Know what fills your cup.

Everyone is different but if you don’t know what helps you recover and fills your cup, you will have a hard time keeping yourself topped off and able to help others.

The basis of “fill your cup” is self-care so what makes you happy? What relaxes you? What experiences and things make you smile with true joy? For some people, that may mean an afternoon alone with a glass of wine, a good book, and a hot bath to soak in. For others, that may mean going out with friends and being social. It may be as simple as the luxury of a long hot shower while someone else watches the kids (as a mom, I know this works well for me!). Once you know the things that help rejuvenate you emotionally, mentally, and physically, you will be much better prepared to help yourself as well as others.

Don’t wait until you’re running on empty!

It’s easy for us to always put other people first and make excuses as to why their needs should come before our own but this is what leads to an empty cup, burnout, and mental and emotional exhaustion.

There is no need for this to happen. Let me repeat that for the people trying to hide in back.

There. Is. No. Need. To. Get. To. Burnout. Before. Taking. Care. Of. Yourself.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a parent, a caregiver, in a high-stress job, or think you’re too busy. Taking care of yourself does not require 2 days off a week or a regularly scheduled vacation (though who wouldn’t like those?).

The small things add up.

Doing small things every single day that replenishes you is important. A regular schedule and habit-building can help with this. Taking 5 extra minutes in the morning for coffee before getting the kids up or making a date with yourself to do some yoga or boxing each evening can go a long ways towards keeping yourself topped off.

For me, the small things are letting myself wake up naturally in the morning instead of setting an alarm and taking the time to wash my face and moisturize as I get ready for the day. In the evening, once my son and husband are in bed, I get out my yoga mat or VR headset to put in a workout followed by a meditation. These are non-negotiable for me. They are appointments with myself that help me face the day with a positive outlook and melt away any built-up stress before going to sleep.

How did you hit empty if you were doing all these things already?

Taking time to fill your cup doesn’t mean it will never hit empty. Maybe you’re a bit lower than normal because everything is going wrong all at once. A major event such as a sudden shift in your emotional support system, job loss, or death may take you from low to done without any warning at all.

By continuing to take care of yourself, however, you can turn that around much more quickly than if you don’t have these habits and self-care routines in place. Even though you are struggling, those habits will still kick in, gradually lifting you back up to where you belong. Hopefully, you also have the time to toss some extra self-care in there but if not, you’ll still be refilling your cup regardless.

I’ll admit that instead of exercising 60 minutes a night, I dropped to 15. The important part was that I kept showing up for myself. You need to do that too when you’re getting low or hit empty. Show up for yourself no matter what happens and you will get back to where you need to be.

Conclusion:

Everyone faces tough times in their lives and everyone will get to a point where they feel they have nothing left to give. While we all want to help others, we can’t forget to fill our own cup or risk burnout. Take the time to take care of yourself and build routines around those habits. Do things that energize and refresh you when you get the chance and you’ll notice that you aren’t getting run down nearly as much as you were when you put everyone else’s needs ahead of your own.

What are your favorite self-care routines that fill your cup? Please leave a comment below and you may inspire someone else!