Renew Yourself. Inspire Others.

My motto and mission with SoYoCo Wellness is “Renew Yourself. Inspire Others.”

If you are a helping professional, parent or simply someone with a heart for service, then you are already inspiring others on a daily basis.  Inspire means “to influence, move or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).  If we look back to its origins, it literally means to “breathe new life” into someone or something.  When you inspire someone through your work or your kindness, it is a form of giving new life to that person.  What an honor and a responsibility at the same time.  If you look at the image with this blog post, you will find 10 synonyms for inspire.  I hope that you will take a moment to read through all of the words  that describe inspiration and let them really sink in to your mind and your heart.  I know that you are aware that you are making a difference in the world, but sometimes it helps to slow down, take a deep breath and appreciate the gift that you are giving to others.  Allowing the impact of your work to sink into your heart is one way to renew yourself, which brings me to the first part of the motto.

Renew Yourself.  It’s so easy to focus first on others.  We all know the instructions in case of an emergency on a plane: “Place an oxygen mask on yourself first, then assist others around you.”  Why do you think flight attendants give the same instructions on EACH and EVERY flight?  Because for people like you and me, it’s counter-intuitive to take care of ourselves first.  It’s your natural tendency to want to help others first.  But what happens if YOU run out of oxygen?  Then you literally don’t have another breathe to give, to yourself or others.  So you MUST renew yourself.  Renewal means “to make something new, fresh or strong again” (M-W).   If we go back to thinking about our breath, we have to keep taking deep breaths in and out ourselves in order to “breathe new life” into someone else.   When you think about renewing yourself, it’s easy to think about going on your next vacation or spending time and money to pamper yourself with a massage or spa day.  Those are wonderful things to do to renew yourself on a deep level.  I hope that for TODAY, you will remember to slow down, take a deep breath and renew yourself.  Read through all of the synonyms for renewal in the image above: restore, replenish, transform…  Let these words be your oxygen mask.  Breathe new life into yourself as you begin again, deep breathe in and out, rejuvenate, deep breathe in and out, reawaken, deep breathe in and out…