These posts are meant to lead you be your most empowered self and help you overcome those things that are holding you back from reaching your goals. Some of this might resonate with you, or not, and I’m not here to judge anyone or their actions, only to give you something to think about.

Self-care is essentially giving the world the best of you not what is “left of you”. The words self-care and self-love are thrown around a lot lately. That is a good thing. It means that people are realizing that all good things start from within themselves. When you take care of yourself, you can take care of others. To have healthy interactions and relationships with others, you have to have a healthy relationship with yourself. This means taking care of yourself physically and mentally (self-care) and being kind to yourself (self-love).

Empty Cup

I often speak about the “empty cup” analogy. Our life experiences, traumas and challenges often deplete our cup. As a result, we can go through life with an empty cup. This leaves space open for unhappy experiences. In an effort to add to their cup, many will fill it with anything they find (most often trash) and let others fill it with their stuff and baggage.

In contrast, filling your own “cup” with what makes you most happy and fulfilled leaves you open to much healthier interactions with others. I know this from personal experience. I looked to others to fill my cup, and, as a result, I was often unhappy and unfulfilled in both my professional and personal life. There was always something missing. I kept making wrong choices for me and let others influence my well-being.

When I started focusing on my own self-care, and filling my own cup, my life changed for the better. My interactions with others also improved significantly. I also became more patient with my journey and myself. Self-love then came more easily at that point and was the catalyst to maintaining my full and often overflowing cup, which allows me to share with others.

Self-Care

Self-care can look like many things and is unique to each individual but you, yourself, need to determine what fills your own cup. This is an important practice regardless of your relationship status or busy schedule. This could also include if needed speaking to a therapist to work through things that hold you back or even a coach to help you plan your pace. It looks differently to different people but forge out your own journey and figure out how to fill your own cup. These actions will help you appreciate and love yourself. This is the ultimate gift you can give yourself and everyone around you.

Whatever your life goals are, career, love, social life or even opening yourself up to more, self-care and self-love will help you project a beacon of light to attract the best people and opportunities to you. You are WORTHY of all good things. Be kind to and respect yourself. It starts with you. It will ultimately help your interpersonal interactions as well because your overflowing cup will ensure that you are not approaching life from a place of lack.

Where to start:

Find what self-care rituals work for you. Some ideas of self-care could include creating boundaries, surrounding yourself with the right people, going to the spa, going to the gym, being active, being social, eating healthier, being spiritual, giving to others, continuously learning, and even exploring the world.

Affirmation & Gratitude:

Your daily affirmations will help motivate you to do what you need to in order to care for and love yourself. Make small goals such as taking time out for yourself, even if it’s fifteen minutes, then work up to bigger things. Your feel good journal will also help by being a place to vent but also feel gratitude for your accomplishments and lessons learned.

“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”

[Brené Brown]

Your Takeaway

1. All good things start from within you. When you take care of yourself, you can take care of others.
2. This means taking care of yourself physically and mentally (self-care) and being kind to yourself (self-love). Make yourself a priority in your life because you cannot be there for others if you are depleted.
3. Going through life with an empty cup leaves space open for unhappy experiences because it is usually the trash we collect along our journey that goes in. Filling your own “cup” with what makes you most happy and fulfilled leaves you open to much healthier interactions with others.
4. Find ways of decompressing at the end of each day to let go of the stressors before you go to sleep in order to have a more restful night. This includes writing in your feel good journal.
5. Self-care looks differently for everyone but it is an important activity for everyone, regardless of their lifestyle.

TRY THIS: Find ways to enhance your self-love and self-care by filling your cup, seeking out any help that you need and making yourself and your mental health a priority. Do things for you that feel good.

POST IT NOTE: I will take care of myself better

Click for recorded segment exclusively on BlastTheRadio.com: SELF-CARE [4:47 mins]

READERS: What are your thoughts on this? Please share in the comments!

One.Step.At.A.Time.

Suzie