YOU CAN’T POUR FROM AN EMPTY CUP
- I feel like I am juggling my professional life and personal life and the balls keep falling!
- I feel overwhelmed because it seems there is not enough hours in the day to get all that I have to do done.
- I am smiling on the outside, but inside I am resentful because I feel that what I do is not appreciated.
- My life feels out of control!
If you can relate to one or more of the above, keep reading!
Every year, the American Psychological Association (APA) surveys people throughout the United States on stress. The survey focuses on their sources of stress, its intensity and how people react to stressors, mentally and physically. Despite the raging pandemic in 2020, they did the survey and the results were summed up as follows:
“We are facing a national mental health crisis that could yield serious health and social consequences for years to come.”(*)
Take a minute to digest this statement as it pertains to how you are feeling. Long story short, if not dealt with, how you are feeling could have long term implications. Having said this, being a mental health professional and also, based on personal experience, I also know that problem-solving, when one is in this space, can be very challenging.
Our body talks to us. Sadly, many of us ignore its warning signs. The questions that I started this article with are just a few of the warning signs that we are in the yellow zone and about to enter the red zone. Hence, the reason to hit the PAUSE button. Telepathically, I can hear many of you reading this thinking - “Where am I going to get time to take a pause?” Well, all of us get 24 hours each day and each of us have a say regarding how we use this time. Hitting the pause button for 10 minutes out of the 24 hours we are given can make a world of a difference.
Some of what is manifesting may be a direct result of us continuing to use older operating systems (to borrow a technology term). Let me explain. I had a cell phone, that now I can say, seemed like the first one that was invented. In fact, when I brought it into a Verizon Store (of course this was a few years ago, pre-COVID) to be fixed, unbeknown to them, I heard the representative and her colleagues joking and laughing about it. The rep returned from the backroom to let me know that the reason why the phone was freezing, dropping calls, etc., although I installed the updates was because the operating system was too outdated for the new updates.
So, how does this pertain to the subject on hand - what is happening in your live? Well, who we are today is not who we were, even 12 months ago. Some of the tools that you are using to navigate the new you are antiquated. They need to be updated, discarded and/or replaced.
So, let me ask you, “Have you ever tried to LITERALLY pour from an empty cup?” Well, needless to say, it is impossible to do. Hence, my second question, which I want you to think about carefully, “Why do you think that you can continue to run on empty and give of your best self?”
One way of refilling your cup is to journal. Our Journal to Wellness was created for just this. The diagram below shows why this journal is different! Paired with our Messages in a Tin, 52 inspirational quotes and challenging questions, they make the a perfect self-care package.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time… think positively!
