I came across this picture a few hours ago and it really resonated with me. Sometimes I do not have enough time during the day to do what I need to, I find myself working into the early hours of morning and being completely tired the next day.
Have you ever given so much of yourself that you run out of time for tasks, leaving them for the next day and then doing it all over again?
Perhaps you have a full time job, juggling child care and school runs, bringing work home, taking care of sick relatives and running a household. Maybe you are studying and have assignment deadlines to meet.
How many of us make the time to just breathe, have a lie in on weekends and days off and not worry about what tasks they haven’t completed? Some do not sleep more than 5 hours a night and some people actually feel guilty for admitting that they are tired and they want to rest.
It’s important not to overwork and try to get enough sleep in order to maintain a high level of productivity. Sleep deprivation causes fatigue, lack of concentration, forgetfulness, weight loss or weight gain and it can make you really grumpy.
Most people go to back to work after days off or holidays more tired than they were before they went away because they don’t rest during that time.
Think about this, when you are driving – you stop for fuel when you realise you are running low and not leave it until your reserve has run empty that the vehicle wont move. It is common practice to replenish other resources and the same should be applied to our lives.
Most of us panic when our phone batteries are low and can not function when we do not have our phones or mobile devices until they are fully charged or have enough power on them.
The bottom line is, that device is not going to work when its been depleted of power and will be redundant. That is the same as our bodies when we have overworked and under slept.
We need to rest and recharge so that we may be productive in our jobs and day to day routines. We can not constantly run on empty and expect our bodies not to pack up.
It is not a weakness to see the doctor if you feel pain in your body, its better than finding out there is a problem when an illness has progressed beyond treatment. Do not feel guilty when you are tired or under the weather. Sometimes its natures way of forcing us to slow down.
It is fine to rest when you are tired, if you keep going without a break, you will eventually break. When you have reached that point you will have nothing left to give and what good is that to you, your family, your job or whatever else you are doing?
You can’t pour from an empty cup, you can not drink from an empty cup!
Take a step back every now and then and have that relaxing bath, listen to some music that you like as you unwind or meditate, watch that movie that you have been meaning to catch up on for weeks.
Doing relaxing things doesn’t have to cost you money, it is about just making a bit of time to yourself so that you can be able to to function at your best and continue to ‘pour from that cup’.
