You’ve heard about self-care a hundred different ways by now, right? And still, for many of this is an area where we have an opportunity to grow. That concept is what inspired this week’s affirmation – “You can only share what you have”.

Why self-care matters

“You can only share what you have” is centered in the idea that if you aren’t taking care of yourself, you won’t have anything to give to others. Many of us use our family, loved ones or jobs as excuses for why we don’t take care of ourselves. We don’t want to take time away from the people we love. We want to be sure we are spending as much time as we need to at work. I get it. I feel the same way.

Let’s change the context of this discussion for a moment to allow me to illustrate the point.

Let’s pretend that you just went to the grocery store to buy apples, among other things. Your neighbor stops over a while after you get home to chat. While she is there, she mentions she is really hungry and wishes she could have a healthy snack. You offer her an apple and she happily accepts. She has the snack, feels much better and you feel great because you were able to share with your friend.

On the other hand, let’s pretend you haven’t been to the store this week. You are out of all the simple foods and the only things in your kitchen are things that would take preparation to cook. You don’t even have a handy can of fruit or vegetables: you have only the dried goods (like beans) that would require soaking before cooking. Your neighbor stops over and mentions being hungry. You kindly tell her that you need to go to the store, but mention you saw another neighbor just carrying grocery sacks into her house. You send your hungry neighbor on her way to get a snack from someone who has something quick to eat.

There isn’t a big emotional response, is there. It was easy. You didn’t have something to snack on, so you said no. You don’t have to have emotional responses to saying no to other things either.

Self care doesn’t have to be hard

It doesn’t have to be any harder than that when it comes to other things in our lives. If we are tired, hungry, burnt-out, or tapped out… we really don’t have anything to share with others. It becomes the same as sharing some dried beans. The beans are fine and offer good nutritional value, but they are not ready to eat. It’s only when we practice positive self-care that we can really share with someone.

When we are filled up, rested up, and fired up we have a lot to offer! We have to pay ourselves first in the sense that we can only share what we have. Rather than using our loved ones as excuses, use them as the REASON why you are engaging in self-care.The more well taken care of you are, the more you have to give!

What is one thing you can TODAY to send a message to the universe you are going to practice positive self-care? Leave it in the comments below, we would love to hear from you! You might help give us some ideas!

Self care is an important part of the Empowered Me Course and is an integral part of the second class. For more information, visit that course page here. I’m hosting a Back-to-School special on the course and offering it for only $200!