This past Friday, I attended an event called Fill Your Cup Conference. The intention of this one-day conference designed for women was to pour into yourself so we can pour into others.
Have you ever stopped to think of how much we (women) pour into others? For some of us that is all we do, and we never have time for ourselves.
You might be a mother swimming in dirty diapers, who has considered an IV filled with coffee to be a good idea. When you dreamed of being a mother the image of crying while you held your crying baby was not something you thought about.
You might be a business woman putting in the hours to prove to yourself and others that your business will be successful, while juggling all other aspects of life and trying to find the right balance. When you were dreaming about becoming a business woman, you didn’t realize you would have to fight twice as hard to be respected and invited to the table.
You might be a newlywed trying to figure out how to conconquer the “housewife” thing, because in fact your husband is the entire package, but sucks as a living roommate. When you were planning out the wedding details from the venue to the guest list, you were not discussing with your future husband who would take out the trash or wash the dishes.
You might not be any of these things yet. Maybe you’re just a young woman who just started a journey of discovering her identity and feeling empty, because you don’t know how to pour into yourself.
Hell, you might be all of these things, which is my point. Women are like circus clowns trying to juggle every aspect of life with a smile on our face, and worried about what the crowd might think of our performance. We pour into the people around us. We pour into our kids. We pour into our careers. We pour into our family.
Regardless of which woman you are, one thing is certain — we tend to pour more into others than we do ourselves. What do I mean by pour? What did business women Suzanne Cecil White and Amber Zaricor mean by filling your cup? To keep it basic, it means to do what makes your heart happy and sets your soul on fire. If you are depleted, tired, anxious, restless, or unmotivated then ask yourself — what are you doing to become the opposite of this? You must love yourself and be running on a full tank, before you can successfully take care of others.
As a speaker and attendee of the Fill Your Cup of Conference, at the amazing venue of White Chateau in Owensboro, Kentucky, here were my takeaways. I should also state that these take aways are from women killing it in business from owning her own college to leading a company that creates millions in revenue. Among each of our stories there are things we shared and nodded to each other in affirmation as we spoke. Life is hard, time doesn’t stand still, and being a woman of purpose can be daunting when you don’t put these things into action:
- Create your community of people. Find others that build you up, pour into you, listen, do life next to you, and will empower you to follow your dreams and stay true to yourself. Be intentional to schedule time with your community of people.
- Be patient and slow down. Be in the present and focus on what is a priority at that moment. Don’t set a timeline for success, because it is a journey that is ever involving. Just because you don’t have the answers right now, doesn’t mean that you will never have them. Stay the course if it makes you happy, no matter the obstacles that come in your way.
- Understand what you are saying yes and no. Being something for everyone isn’t an option that will fuel you forward. Start saying no to the things that don’t connect you to your purpose or makes you happy. What are you having to sacrifice by saying “yes” to everything? Be intentional. Don’t feel the need to explain your no. Just let it be no, and don’t apologize for it.
- Live in the season, and be reassured another season will come. There is a purpose for every season in your life. Live in that season and learn from it. Understand that growing while in it will get you through the next season.
- Embrace the valley you’re in, because when you come out there will be a mountain to stand on! Through all the hard “stuff” there is something pretty amazing on the other side. Trust in God through the valley and He will create you a mountain top to stand strong on. Don’t fear the valley. Don’t fear the unexpected. When you can work through your fears there is a mountain top awaiting.
Besides the take away nuggets there were two quotes that I fell in love with at the conference that inspire me in a way that fuels me forward. One came from Latoya Nashae (@coach_latoyanashae) and the other came from Amber Zaricor (@amberzaricor).
“You will never out run me in MY lane!” – Latoya Nashae
“Speak what you seek, until you see what you said.” – Amber Zaricor
In conclusion, I encourage my readers to make time for themselves. Invest in yourself to reconnect with your inner soul and discover your why. Take more time to pause your life and be around other women who inspire you. Whether you attend a women’s conference like Fill Your Cup, set up a coffee date, or join a woman’s mastermind group, just take action. You deserve to get what you need to fill your cup, so you can in return fill others’ cups. Just remember you can’t pour into others with an empty cup.
“We Rise By Lifting Others”
Find your people who are excited to see you rise!
Post Picture and video captured by Rose and Oaks Studios! Check out the video that celebrates women filling their cup!