Self-Full – Are you full of yourself?
You would be right if you are thinking that self-full isn’t a real word. It’s not. I’ve completely and utterly made it up. Shakespeare used to make up words all the time, so why shouldn’t I?
When I was developing the slayer method I tried to find a term that describe what I was trying to communicate and I struggled. Self-care is too narrow. Self-awareness is included but isn’t holistic enough. Self-fish has too many negatives contained within.
I tried hard to find a word to describe what I felt was truly important. So I decided to make up a word that worked. When I describe to you what self-full is about you will understand why I picked this word.
Let me define it for you.
Self-full is looking after yourself, filling your own cup first, acknowledging that you must be full and healthy before you can take action to help others. Self-full is recognising that your mind and your body perform best when you are providing it with the rest, nourishment, and mindful activity it needs.
I watched an interview with Oprah Winfrey where she was talking about some of the criticism that she has gotten over her life. This women has a message and is in the public eye, so you can bet she has had more than her fair share of criticism. She acknowledged that she used to be very concerned with what people would say about her, particularly when they said ‘you’re so full of yourself’. She didn’t want to be seen as ego driven or selfish.
What she recalled in this interview was the moment that she realised that the insult had become a compliment. She had done so much work on discovering her purpose and taking action on that purpose that she had to be full. Full of her self. Because without being full of her self, she would be full of other things. She was filling her self with other people’s thoughts, values, problems, and behaviours. The work to know herself and love herself, meant that she was full of her self. Now when someone says ‘you’re so full of your self’. She smiles and says, “yes I am, and thank God”.
Full of your self is the first element of enabling the strength of the slayer to be unleashed. Its difficult to be fully yourself, if you are full of others.
Are you curious about becoming more full of your self. Find out how to master this element in The Slayer Codex Vol 1: Unleash the Slayer Within