Take a balloon. Blow it up. Now let the air out.
Nothing left. Flat. Done. Until you fill it again.
Here is the part most people forget. The second time you blow it up, it is easier. The rubber has already been stretched. It fills up further with less effort. But only if you fill it again.
You are the balloon.
Every meeting, every crisis, every decision, every person who needs something from you — that is air going out. It is supposed to go out. That is what you are here for. But if you never fill back up, you have nothing left to give. Not to your team, not to your family, not to yourself.
And the longer you wait, the harder it gets.
The good news is that filling up is a skill and like most skills it gets easier with practice. The more often you do it, the more you know what works, the faster it happens, and the further you go on a full tank.
But first you have to know what fills you. Not what should fill you. Not what fills other people. What actually fills you.
Your list might include a long walk, a good meal, a terrible reality show, a hard workout, an hour of silence, a loud concert, a conversation with someone who makes you laugh until it hurts. There is no wrong answer. The only wrong answer is an empty list.
Make your list. Ten things that fill you up. Keep it somewhere you can see it. Use it.
Send me your top 3.
Have a great week!
Julie
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