Someone i know and look up to had been having a really difficult, challenging, heart-wrenching year. His wife had cancer, and he had been helping her in every way, as he slowly and painfully watched her continuously decline, and eventually pass on. The money they had worked so hard to amass for so many years had started to diminish, properly and appropriately being spent on her care. He lost one of his daughters in a horrific car accident. No parent should ever have to bury a child, but he did. With all that was difficult, and with all that seemed to be going wrong in his life, he was able to keep his wits about him. He had the mental strength, the emotional resilience, the incredible faith, and the physical strength, to see him through these rough times. His resilience was inspiring. I asked him what his secret was.
He told me that as long as he remembers to take care of himself each and every day, he has the strength to do ANYTHING. He adheres to a daily, consistent, morning routine which, if he were a drinking glass, fills him up to the brim and provides an overflow, with which he is able to do more and more for others, regardless of the circumstances which occur, or the difficulties and challenges the days bring. His own, personal routine consists of physical exercise (swimming/cardio), mental exercise (reading), and spiritual exercise (meditation/prayer/practicing gratitude.) He swears by these things. He told me as long as he habitually, consistently practices each of these things, every day, things tend to unfold throughout the day as they should. He is more relaxed, centered, grounded, at peace, and happy. He is more capable, more beneficial, and more valuable to everyone around him.
He realized, long ago, that the quality of his personal belief system would dictate the quality of his life, and he habitually chooses to keep his priorities clear.
He knows, as we all do:
NOTHING LOVED
IS EVER LOST
Behind every success story is a lot of hard work. There is no such thing as an, “overnight success.” Every success story has a history, or a conversion and convergence of circumstances from a constant practice of consistency, which has resulted in that success. Success is usually accompanied by hard work, consistency, and a ton of effort.
ALL LUCK IS EARNED IN THE END.
It is incredibly helpful if we remember to prioritize everything, every day, in order to truly enjoy and benefit from each day to the fullest. Putting self-care at the top of the list is crucial and critical. We don’t have to stop at just filling up our own glass. There are many things we can do to fill our own glass to the brim and then let it overflow into the glasses, or lives, of others. When our lives become so full that its beauty and joy overflow into the lives of others, life truly becomes more magical, beautiful, meaningful, and full of purpose.
We fill up our cups, and our lives, according to what we choose to consistently prioritize and focus on. It is the quality of our beliefs and our thoughts that become the quality of our words, our actions, the quality of our feelings, and the quality of each and every corresponding outcome within our lives.
Together, with the Universe, we are co-conspirators. We are creators.
The beautiful thing about filling our cups until they overflow, DAILY, is that sooner or later, we will be met with devastating realities in our own lives, and that full cup may be emptied quickly. Interestingly, it is at these times that the cups we have been filling all along, rush to our aid and benefit, quickly and easily refilling us, as needed.
Sometimes, we may feel shattered. It is important to remember that we can be repaired.
Truly, we are all ONE. Let us prepare, each and every day, to not only be there for ourselves, but for others, as well.
Today’s challenge for myself: Today I will make a list of the top things I think are most beneficial for my own self-care. I will create, or recreate, a daily, consistent, morning routine, which will benefit me the most, helping me to fill my own glass and life SO MUCH and SO QUICKLY, that it overflows into the glasses of others, each and every day.
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our realities.