Do you remember those old cartoons in the newspaper? The block was typically a little bit larger of a block than the other comics, with swirling colors and patterns, and you had to focus your eyes just right to see it? Sometimes you had to stare or squint your eyes so you could see either a secret message or dancing cartoon animals?
I feel like that's a pretty accurate representation of what the year 2020, and some of 2021, has looked like for us. Not all of us see the same things, and we don't all have the same experience.
But it has also given us a pause.
A pause to reflect. A pause to breathe. A pause to refocus.
Some of us were asking a lot of ourselves, in the old normal. Stretching ourselves too thin. Or maybe our old normal was getting caught up in the whirlwind of life - from work, to errands, to family, and back again.
In order to set the pace for ourselves, moving forward on a path of our design - we must refocus. Self care is the #1 priority. You cannot pour into others, or anything else for that matter, with an empty cup. You cannot run on fumes alone. But what does self care look like, anyway?
How do you know what fills you up? And how do you know what takes away? It looks different for all of us!
Below you'll find a tool I often tend to use when I need a bit of a compass, a way to refocus, if you will. Crayons or colored pencils are never far from my reach!
I decided to draw a diagram to place out the activities that fill out my life. I used the spectrum of Energizing to Depleting, and My Priorities to Other's Priorities. I also used a category for each quarter in my diagram - to include Rewarding work, Fun & Purpose, Tasks and Drudgery.
Take a moment to draw out your own. To see what fills you up, and what depletes you. And then - and then - you turn theoretical knowledge, into learning by praxis. Putting what you learn into practice.
Balance out your days with things that fill you up, because in order to do the drudgery - we must fill our cups.
With Grattitude,
Cierra
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