You Cannot Pour From An Empty Cup

No one can give from what they do not have. Imagine someone promising to give you something that they do not have, how will it make them to look like? Someone once said that "if someone promises to give you a cap, you have to check the one on his head first." This does not just talk about cap literally. It means that someone can only give from what they have. In life, you cannot service the needs of humanity if you have not built the means. This is why you have to learn to build and develop yourself to the point that you can become an answer to the needs of others. To pour from your cup, you have to fill your cup first.

A friend of mine, while growing up, had passion to help the people within her community with health-related issues. But she could not, because she lacked the necessary requirements and skills for it. After she finished her secondary education, she went on to pursue a career in Public Health Nursing. After that, she got employed under a programme in the Ministry of Health. This was what gave her the access she needed to reach out to her community. She started organising health outreach in collaboration with other agencies. It was possible for her to help others because she first developed herself. You see, it was from the abundance of what she already has that it was possible for her to give to others.

In the pursuit of success, responsibilities, and service to others, a lot of people tend to forget that you cannot pour anything from a cup that has nothing. In other words, you will not be able to give your best; your time, energy, effort, love, etc, when you are emotionally, mentally and physically drained. You need to take care of yourself first, so you will be able to do the same for other. Taking care of yourself, working on yourself, upgrading and gathering more skills, are not acts of selfishness, rather they are necessities that you need to do to help yourself, so you can help others.

There are some people that take pride in constantly being busy, always available for others, always giving and giving. They always push themselves to attend to the needs of others, meet expectations, support people, and even handle responsibilities without rest. At the initial, this may appear admirable, but along the line, it may lead to exhaustion. What you need to understand is that when you are drained, it will affect your effectiveness, and it will also reduce it. Even if you show up, you may not give your best. You have to fill up yourself first so you will be able to pour out when it is required.

I once followed one of my Uncles for his farming activities many years ago when I went for vacation in his house. I noticed that before he would talk about harvesting anything from his farmland, he would have already planted crops on the farm during the planting season. Then when the harvesting season comes, he will have what to harvest. In the same way in life and in other aspects of life, it is what you have put inside you that you will bring out when the time comes for it. For example, you should not wait for opportunities to come first before you build up yourself or develop capacity to handle it. You have to develop the required capacity and skills to handle it first. So when it comes, you will simply deliver from what you already have.

Have you ever asked yourself this; "if you are called upon for the opportunity that you have been long wishing for, how well are you equipped to deliver?" One of the reasons why a lot of people do not recognise opportunities is because they are not even prepared for them. You will be surprised how lots of opportunities are around you and even passing by, but until you are prepared for them, you may not even recognise them. There is no limit to what can be achieved, but you have to understand that it is what you put in that you will be able to bring out. A friend once said; "Instead of waiting for the war to start before you start to train, it is better to train and become a warrior in your kitchen, than to become a cook in the war front."

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