We talked in our last blog post about my brother James’ observation that people can be divided into gulpers and sippers.
Gulpers, he says, are thirsty for life. They enjoy life. Sippers, however, are afraid their good luck or wonderful experience won’t last. They are the type who sip slowly and conserve their drink.
We concluded that the trick is to find the right balance between gulping and sipping. Sometimes it’s appropriate to sit back and evaluate where you’re heading, and sometimes it’s appropriate to speed ahead from one experience to another.
If you’re a gulper and many of us are, Fayteen has three warnings for you to consider:
- Remember that our society has a bias toward gulpers. Our crazy culture holds up as the ideal the women who seem to be Superwomen—the women, for example, who appear to combine children and careers and volunteer jobs and working out at 6 a.m. without ever getting tired. Of course, those Superwomen are tired, and we all know that it is impossible to survive as Superwomen for long.
- Remember that gulpers can keep gulping only as long as they have something left in their cup to drink. Sometimes you have to stop and fill up your cup. We all know caregivers who keep doing and doing until they are exhausted physically and emotionally and have nothing else to give. When they reach that point, they may not have enough strength to refill their cup of inner strength. They may become ill or depressed.
- Remember that sometimes it’s good to sit back and slow down. Make a plan. Before you rush away to start gulping more experiences, make sure you’re focusing on what’s most important. Don’t let your cup of inner peace and strength get empty.
–Joy