The Heart Cup & The Tin Cup: A Gentle Year-End Reflection
As the year winds to an end, many of us feel that quiet, almost sacred nudge to pause.
To look back—not to tally achievements or measure productivity—but to notice the deeper currents that carried us through 2025.
What truly filled my heart this year?
What helped my life function and flow?
In our house, we think of these as two cups we are always, consciously or unconsciously, filling:
The Heart Cup and The Tin Cup.
One holds your aliveness.
One holds your livelihood.
And a bright, meaningful life—one that feels like it fits—is a life where both cups have something in them.
The Tin Cup: What Sustains Your Life
Your Tin Cup is the grounded, practical vessel.
It’s the work you show up for, the services you offer, and the everyday structures that create stability.
It pays the rent on your life—and, if you’re thoughtful, it pays the rent on your future self too.
When your Tin Cup is tended to, life gets roomier.
You feel the presence of systems and support that make things easier. There’s breath. There’s choice. There’s generosity.
But when this cup is undernourished, everything tightens.
Life feels compressed—pressured, small.
Tending the Tin Cup is an act of deep self-respect.
It is the quiet internal knowing of:
“I have what I need.”
And still… this cup tells only one part of the story.
The Heart Cup: What Keeps You Alive Inside
Your Heart Cup holds the sweetness, meaning, and spark that make your life unmistakably yours.
It fills through connection, creativity, growth, adventure, awe, joy, and presence.
It fills when you feel awake inside your own skin—aligned, alive, and deeply you.
Take a moment and remember the moments this year that warmed you from the inside:
A relationship that deepened
A shoreline, summit, or trail that made you pause
A conversation you’re still carrying with you
A piece of work that felt true
Kindness you gave with no scorecard attached
Something you learned that widened your view
A risk that reminded you that you are still brave
These moments pour directly into the Heart Cup.
This is the cup of vitality, meaning, and inner glow.
When it runs low, you can look accomplished on paper and still feel strangely empty.
Many of my clients first come to me when they have strong Tin Cups and starving Heart Cups—wondering why life doesn’t feel quite right anymore.
Where the Two Cups Meet: The Life That Feels Like “You” ( or in the parlance of Live Bright Now, your brightest life”)
And then there is the beautiful middle—the very human overlap where livelihood and aliveness begin to meet.
This is the place where:
Your gifts earn your living
Your strengths become service
What lights you up benefits others
Your purpose subtly (or boldly) shapes your profession
It doesn’t have to be 50/50.
But there must be something in both cups.
When even a modest overlap exists, life feels more coherent.
More whole.
Your energy renews rather than drains.
Burnout loosens its grip.
And you find yourself saying:
“Life is feeding me. I have enough. I feel content.”
A Year-End Inquiry to Guide You Forward
As you look back on this year, give yourself a quiet moment and ask…
1. What filled my Tin Cup?
What created stability?
What did I build or maintain?
What supported my home, my body, my future?
2. What filled my Heart Cup?
What felt meaningful or awe-filled?
What brought joy or connection?
Where did I feel proud of who I was becoming?
These questions aren’t for judgment.
They’re for clarity.
Clarity creates choice.
Choice creates agency.
Agency creates freedom and fulfillment.
An Invitation for the Year Ahead
What if, in the coming year, you tended to both cups with intention?
What if you honored your financial foundation and your inner spark?
What if you loosened your grip on the roles, habits, or relationships that drain you—and moved toward what feels true?
A bright life isn’t about choosing one cup over the other.
It’s about honoring both:
What sustains you?
What awakens you?
And the truth is simple.
You deserve both.
Stay Connected with Candra & Live Bright Now
Subscribe for periodic updates filled with Bright Thoughts on company culture, leadership, family, and the everyday adventures that inspire awe.