You Can't Pour from an Empty Cup

Self-care is so important… especially in this chapter of our lives. Living your best life in mid-life means making time for you. I’m willing to bet that you have spent many years taking care of others and fulfilling your long list of duties and obligations. But did you also make time to take care of you?

We’ve all heard the saying that you can’t give from an empty cup, but did you really pay attention? For many of us, I would bet the answer is NO! I learned the hard way that not prioritizing self-care can be a recipe for disaster. It can result in feeling over-extended, worn out and resentful. In my case, in addition to all of those, it leads to severe burnout.

Self-care can be small things like taking a bath, reading a book, or even making a nutritious meal. For me, this week's self-care looked like escaping by myself for a few days of alone time. I read, went for walks, did some writing and basically enjoyed not having to be accountable to anyone but me. I haven’t had any alone time in quite a while, and I had forgotten how much I really need it. (Mental note to schedule the next one).

Now I’m not saying that it always needs to be that elaborate, but what is helpful for me is prioritizing activities that I can do daily, weekly and monthly to make sure that I am the best version of me. #lessonlearnedthehardway