You might be thinking that’s a little conceited, or that’s a little bit selfish.
You may say that your kids are more important, or that your partner is the most important person in my life, or even that your parents are the most important people in my life.
Let me shed some light on the topic.
Think about it this way…
If you work in fifo like me, we work 12 hours for someone. Almost majority of fifo workers do the crazy 2:1 roster. 2 weeks at work and 1 week at home. (I’m currently on an 8:6 roster, so it’s almost even). So technically that is more time doing something for someone else, than doing things for yourself. If you want to be the best employee you have to top you cup up first. If you want to be the best version of yourself, you have to take care of yourself first. If you keep on giving your cup will empty and you’ll feel horrible – and that isn’t what life is about.
Here is what someone does when they don’t top their cup up and don’t have a very high level of self worth.
When you’re at work and you do your 12 hours, go to dinner and go to bed. This gets old quick. You feel shit, tired, worn out, over worked and you resent your boss and your job. So you either quit and go searching for something better (puts your family into financial stress) or you just stay there on the hamster wheel (don’t be this person) or worse you get moved on because you just aren’t performing well.
Basically this scenario is a person with an empty cup and no self worth.
Here is what someone does when they top their cup up with the never ending full jug of water and have high self worth.
They wake early to do some stretches or meditation (they take care of themselves), then they work their 12 hours, possibly reading a book on lunch break or calling a friend or family member (to learn or check in with loved ones), then once work has finished they either go to the gym or get some fresh air to really top their cup back up. They then enjoy dinner with a couple of work mates, and maybe a cheeky beer before jumping into bed to read a couple more pages of that book (or get washing out of the dryer). They then go to bed nice and early to ensure they get enough sleep (self care). This person is happy, works his way into a promotion and goes home happy and satisfied.
Long story short, fill your cup up before you try give anything to anyone else. It’s impossible to give from an empty cup. When you put yourself first you’re able to be the best version of yourself to yourself and everyone else that you come into contact with on the day. Whether it’s your children, your boss, your partner or even yourself.
If this is something you’re not used to, let me help you have high self worth and take care of yourself.
You must firstly deeply and truely understand that taking care of yourself is not seen as highly strung, selfish, snobby, arrogant or any other words that you tell yourself. Really understand this – because then you’re always able to fill your cup first and always have high self worth without feeling these feelings.
Sleep enough hours. You can’t be a good parent, sister, brother, friend or employee when you haven’t had enough sleep. It is recommenced that we get 7-9 hours sleep every night. Find out what amount your body feels best at, and do that. Be your own guinea pig for a bit and discover if you need 7 or 8.5 to feel energetic, motivated, happy and calm. I bang on about sleep all the time – I swear by it and the research shows it.
Set time aside every day (even 3 minutes) for time to be alone with yourself.
This is usually my meditation, or a jog. But it can be just time in a room alone, a quick walk around the block or even just jumping into bed before your partner for a quick moment alone to gather your mind. Being alone enables you to really check in with yourself and it eliminates any distractions. Do this daily to check that you’re on the right path.
Exercise. By now we all know the benefits of exercising and what it does to our minds. No excuses, find 30 minutes to move your body. (Even 3 lots of 10minute moments is an amazing effort). Do it for stronger bones, increasing muscle mass and the endorphins. Find something you enjoy and do it often.
Get a massage. Or give yourself a self love massage. Some coconut oil with a drop of lemongrass is equally invigorating and helps relax the muscles. When you give your self a massage tell each body part that your massaging how thankful you are of it and how much you love it. This increases your love for your body. It will feel strange at first but it starts to feel really nice. If you don’t love massages or you’d rather not spend the money, there are so many other self love practices you can do, to fill your cup up. It is so important to show your own body some love. If you have love for your body, your able to show love to others.
Some physical ideas to show yourself some love: put a face mask on, put a hair mask in, paint your nails or shave your legs.
For the guys: get a hair cut, see the barber, have a bath or heck even put a face mask on (thank me later).
Get some fresh air. Whether it’s on your run, your walk to work, enjoying your morning cuppa outside or just laying in the park reading your book. Even if it’s cold, still do this. Getting some fresh air into your lungs helps lift your mood as well as being in nature you’re surrounded by all of those good negative ions.
Make decisions that include your best interest. Sometimes we feel pressure to go out for beers when we already know that we didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Sometimes we don’t know how to say no or we feel like we have to do certain things to be seen a certain way. Do what you want and ensure your decisions take into consideration your best interests.
Along with all of this, if you ever need help with anything – never feel ashamed for reaching out. If you don’t know where to start, send me a DM on Instagram (I’m most active there) and if I can help I will and if I can’t help I’ll point you in the right direction to get the help you’re after.
With all of these self love, cup filling aspects we can start to feel bad but as long as we take care of ourselves and realise that we are the most important person in our life, we can show up as our best version. Never feel like you’re being high maintenance or a pain, do what you need to be at your highest vibration.
I’d love to know your thoughts leave a comment below, let’s have a chat.
Love & Peace
Teags Lee x
