Filling Your Cup
Life pulls us into multiple directions:
• Working a full-time job, with or without a commute,
that may or may not fulfill us.
• Making decisions about our aging parents’ health, and
sometimes being actively involved in caregiving.
• Running young children back and forth between school
and activities.
• Going back to school.
• Missing college-aged children and planning weekends
away to visit them.
• Maintaining personal relationships.
• Looking for answers with health concerns, either for us or
for family members.
• Coping with a new “normal,” which could be retirement,
a move, the death of a family member or the start of a
new career.
How do we do it all? Does anyone out there get in bed at
night and wonder how they got through their day?
When our cup is empty, we are unable to give our best self
to anything we do. This can lead to burnout . . . burnout
at work, in life, in relationships and even in how we take
care of ourselves, be it fitness, sleep and nutrition. When
something you typically love and enjoy doing
62 MyClearwater
does not interest or excite you anymore,
you are likely on the brink of
burnout.
Finding ways to keep our
cups full is essential to a
thriving life. When our
cup overflows, we can
give the best of us to the
areas mentioned above.
If we don’t take the time
to care for ourselves, life
will lose its luster. Sleep
will suffer. Performance
will be off. Relationships
will suffer. While none of those
things sounds good, many of us find
ourselves in situations where we are just
going through life with little exciting us.
How do we keep
the cup full?
Perhaps it’s a daily
walk through a
nice park or a good
workout in the pool
or fitness center. It may
be listening to music or
reading your favorite book. It
could be an artistic endeavor, such
as painting, dancing or simply listening
to your favorite music. It may be joining a friend for dinner
and enjoying a good laugh. Sometimes the most therapeutic
thing we can do is connect with someone who makes us feel
loved.
Find at least one other way to fill your cup on a daily basis.
Why burn out when we can flourish?
Healthy Choices