Women’s Business Connection & Self Care: You cannot pour from an empty cup

I had the honor to share one of my passions with a group of incredible, strong businesswomen through the Women’s Business Connection of Chester County. This supportive community of working women knows how important it is to implement self-care practices into their daily lives. I was invited to facilitate and offer new ways of fostering self-care. The attendance itself was a sign that these women were carving out the time to come learn about how to create a practice for themselves, one that is tailored to their lives and their needs.

Self-care is essential in order to show up in this world as the best versions of ourselves. To start the seminar, I offered a brief meditation to help the group connect with themselves, clear their minds, and feel grounded and at ease.

The theme I presented for these busy working women is that no one can pour from an empty cup. When I spoke the words “no one can pour from an empty cup,” almost every woman in the room was shaking her head in agreement. Furthermore, I presented what self-care is, what the benefits are and what happens when we neglect to practice it. Many of us, including myself, are familiar with how we become moody, intolerant, impatient, reactive and unfocused. These are things that not only don’t serve us well but certainly don’t serve those in our midst.

We proceeded to do an exercise where we spent quiet time focusing on what fills our cups, brings us internal energy and serves us, so we can serve others. We visualized the cup and what would be in it. The group was not only silent as they contemplated, but they all closed their eyes as they visualized their cups overflowing with energy and ease. I could feel the energy and mood of the room shift to that of relaxation and realization.

After the discussion, I challenged the group to set one intention to bring a daily self-care practice to life that feels right for them. They were all excited to bring this to their daily lives. As I offered to be the group’s accountability partner, helping them move forward, the buzz in the room continued. The list that I shared offered so many different opportunities to bring self-care to our daily lives that people do not generally think of.

We cannot underestimate the power of self-care in our business-oriented life, our relationships, our family life and in our own self-empowerment. The better we feel, the easier it is to show up in this world in the best way possible.

I received an email from one of the participants after, sharing the following sentiment:
“Thank you for your talk at WBC. It turned into a complete day of self-care. As I ended up coming home and tuning out the world. Today I feel much more rejuvenated and ready to keep on rocking & rolling… or as I prefer to think of it, a return to my normal sunny optimism versus yesterday’s PMS-like darkness. Anyhow, I do appreciate you! Thank you for sharing!”

If you are interested in the list of self-care exercises that I offered the group, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Additionally, if you would like me to speak at your next meeting or event, please reach out to me.