An empty lantern provides no light. Self-care is the fuel that allows your light to shine brightly. Unknown
Last year, I sent a children’s book entitled, Fill a Bucket by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin, to some of my Greats and Grands. The book’s message is that we all have an invisible bucket which holds good thoughts and feelings about ourselves. When someone does something nice for you, you do something nice for them, or you do something nice for yourself, you fill your bucket and visa versa.
I’ve used the bucket analogy as a Life Coach for years. I’d notice my client’s bucket was empty by how she sounded or what she said. I’d ask her, “What will you do this week to fill your bucket?”
As the holiday season approaches, it’s easy to deplete our own buckets while working hard to fill the buckets of others. This month, keep tabs on your bucket, notice when it’s getting low and either fill it yourself (a nap, a call to a friend, a bath, a walk) or ask someone to fill it (please clean up the kitchen, take me to dinner, drop this off at the post office). As we fill the buckets of others, our joy increases but we need to watch the balance.
Affirmation: I have a full bucket.
Coaching questions: How’s your bucket doing? Is it full or empty? What can you do this week to fill up your bucket while adding to another’s?
Photo by Samur Isma on Unsplash
Life after losing a mother 