We’re constantly advised by well-meaning coaches, guides and gurus that we need to make sure we’re regularly filling our cup.

Life has a way of draining us of our energy, creativity, even our humanity if we let it. Without intentionally replenishing what’s been sapped from us, we risk drying out completely, crumbling, and blowing away in the wind.

In our effort to continually be filling our cup, however, we risk overfilling it with more energy and stimulus than we have the ability to deal with.

We can easily take on too much, overloading ourselves with practices, things and experiences — even good ones — to the detriment of our overall lives.

Yes, we need to be intentionally filling our cup. We need to be replenishing our energy, finding new sources of creative inspiration, and unplugging to recharge.

But maybe we also need to be intentional about how we empty our cup.

Maybe instead of letting the energy, motivation, and inspiration drain out of cracks and holes in our cups, we should be funneling the fuel that drives our creative lives toward work and projects that matter.

Our creative juices are meant to flow, following the pull of gravity, rather than sit and stagnate, leaking out slowly from neglect rather than intention

It’s not a bad thing to find ourselves empty, depleted and drained from time to time. Doing so allows us to find our limits and explore the edges of what we’re currently capable of.

Sometimes draining ourselves is the only way we can truly flush out our system so we can start fresh and pour in only the type of fuel we want to be running on.

But let’s choose to drain ourselves while pouring our heart and soul into the work that only we can do.

The energy’s going to be spent one way or another, use it wisely.

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