Have you ever heard the phrase “fill your cup” or “you can’t give from an empty cup”? They’re pretty common phrases in the wellbeing world, and for great reason.

Positive energy is like petrol in your car - it’s a terrible idea to run “on empty”, not giving more than you have to give, not putting yourself last, behind your partner, kids, family, friends, boss, business.

While I really like these two expressions, when a very wise Chinese Medicine mentor said, “It’s about filling your bath,” it really connected with me!

So I thought I’d share!

How Do You Fill A Bath?

I know this will probably never win me a Nobel Prize, but I’m going to break it down anyway!

To fill a bath, you need to be adding lots of water AND plugging the drain. You need to do both to have a full bath.

Lots of us do lots of good things for our health, like getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water, eating good food, doing acupuncture or yoga, taking herbs and supplements. All that is awesome!

BUT! If you’re not stopping the flow of energy down the plughole then you can’t fill a bath. 

When we talk about filling a bath, it sounds so very obvious but when it comes to our own lives, we can just miss it. We’ll end up doing lots of good things for our health but still feeling pretty Meh! (Yes - that is definitely a technical term, or it should be!)

This is important for everyone, but especially when it comes to fertility (and not just for women). Your body won’t be able to allocate extra resources to making babies if it’s struggling to keep itself going 

Anything that drains you is literally stealing away any benefits from all the good stuff you’re doing and preventing you from having a lovely, full bath. 

For example, not allowing enough time to rest after a busy day or week, not getting enough sleep, having so much screen time that it affects your sleep, smoking (or equivalent) or eating loads of foods that don't agree with you zap your energy like bread, pasta sweets or alcohol - are all examples of things that will drain you. 

Do more of the draining things than of the filling things and your bath can't fill up!

Perfection Is Impossible

You don't need to be perfect or 'nun-like' (nuns enjoy cake too!). 

Perfection is definitely not sustainable and probably impossible anyway. 

It's about being aware of what is filling you up (or what keeps your positive energy up) and what is draining you. Eliminating as many drains on your positive energy as you can, whilst adding in more of the good stuff is how you attain/maintain great health ongoing. 

What Drains You?

Unfortunately, there is no magic wand and no one is likely to step in and sort things out for you. So it's up to you to decide and take actions to fill your own bath.

Take the time to write down what drains you or what saps your positive energy, writing down how to avoid or reduce this, then acting on it will help you maintain or improve your health long term. Some examples of draining things are:

1. Eating rubbish foods too often

2. Not drinking enough water

3. Skipping meals

4. Not getting enough sleep

5. Working overtime or on weekends (limit this!)

6. Overcommitting - work or social. We need down time, we aren't robots! Reschedule what's not really important

7. Unhealthy boundaries

8. Too much social media or screen time. Did you know most phones will show you how much time you spend on your phone each day. This is in addition to TV + computer time - it's astounding! Delete social media off your phone is an easy first step.

My Non-Negotiables

My focus in the last 12 months has been about keeping my bath full. It’s meant I live deliberately and consciously make choices about what does and doesn’t get into my timetable, based on what feeds my positive energy. It’s given me the motivation and the opportunity to develop my top 4 non-negotiable habits to make sure I can keep my bath full.

Daily Walks in the morning before I open my laptop or my emails. I’ll get into some comfy clothes, grab my headphones and put on an inspiring audiobook or podcast and get out in the open air for a walk. There’s something about the open sky, something motivational and deep lungfuls of fresh air that just sets a great tone for the day.

Yoga at 11am, Sunday to Wednesday. My lounge room becomes an impromptu yoga studio. We’re all creatures of habit and by setting up my “Yoga Time” on specific days and at specific times (with handy reminders on my phone!), I’m setting myself up for success!

Scheduling enough alone time. I’ve discovered that if I don’t deliberately set out to do something to stop it, before I know it my calendar is beyond full. I’ve developed 10ft-pole times in my calendar. Those are days, half-days, evenings, or blocks of times where nobody can touch them “with a 10ft pole”. Those times are my “me” times. Times for me to rest, to be by myself, do things that energise me or even (gasp!) do nothing at all! I love my friends and my family, but having too much on ends up being more draining than fun if I don’t get enough rest time.

A protein snack at 2:30-3pm. To be honest, this is almost a community service. If I don’t have this, I get cranky and all I can think about is sweets. Not only do I need the protein snack to avoid the “I deserve it/need it, it’s a once-off, who cares” argument that’s always ready to step in when I’m really hungry, but it improves my outlook on life for the rest of the afternoon and avoids me feeling drained, exhausted and negative, which can quickly snowball into more of the “what drains me” list.

Again, we’re not advocating perfection. It’s not just unnecessary but can also become a drain, all on its own. Identify 3 things that fill your bath, and 3 drains you need to plug. Work on those to make a difference and help you build a better, healthier you - Your health will thank you for it!

Why not book an appointment for your “me” time today!