This past weekend, Vessel owner, Jessica, had a chance to speak on the Kingwood Business Women panel at their inaugural event. She was there to express the importance of mental health and self care when running a business. Many members really resonated with what she brought to the table and we want to share it with all of you.

We Wear Many Hats

While the weekend’s event revolved around business women and how to thrive in that world, Jessica mentioned many other roles that women play. She said that we are constantly serving others, not only in the business world, but also as wives and mothers, and any other responsibility that we take on. Since we constantly pour ourselves into others, we have to make sure that our vessel (see what we did there?) is full so that we have enough to give.

Fill Your Vessel

In February, we spoke a little about how important it is to love yourself and how it can make a difference in your overall well-being. We gave science-backed reasons for making self care a priority. Jessica expanded on that by explaining how time spent improving your mental and physical health can be channeled into so many areas of life.

We cannot pour from an empty cup. Today, women are expected to perform at 100% in everything they do. That is just not possible. And, when we are running on low, how can we give any more? As women, we wear so many hats and we are good at *a lot* of things. The thing is, we know that we are good at all those things. Even when our plate is overflowing, we still try to do it all and end up performing below our best. Then, when we don’t produce like we know we can, we beat ourselves up. It’s an endless cycle.

Better Health Means a Better Perspective

Taking care of yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally helps us put things into perspective. It helps us acknowledge that sometimes we need to say “no” or “not right now”. It allows us to not feel guilty about taking a step back sometimes if we need to recharge so we can, ultimately, be our best selves.

One of the biggest problems many of us face is not knowing how to prioritize all of the things on our plate. We want to do it all and know that we are perfectly capable of doing all the things. The problem is that we could do all the things if we didn’t have all those things to do. When we sit down and look at what we can give 100% to right now and then don’t dwell on the other stuff, we are so much more productive.

That brings us back to mental (and physical) health. If we aren’t in a good headspace — and physical health plays a big role in that — we are unable figure out what needs to be tackled first, second, or last. We end up trying to do a little bit of everything instead of delegating some of it out. When you do a small percentage of a lot of things, nothing is ever really completed. That’s why it’s so important to take the time to get yourself in the right spot before everything else.

Make Time For YOU This Week

As hard as it is, we challenge you to take some time to step back and assess when you are internally. Are you feeling overwhelmed or overworked? Most of us are. Next, ask yourself how you can fit in some time to fill your own vessel. How can you work on your mental, physical, and emotional health this week? How can you prioritize yourself so that you can take care of the other things on your plate? Feel free to ask us for suggestions! We are here to help. 🙂