Recharging After the Holidays
I don’t know about you, but I always come out of the holiday season drained. All the events, the rushing, the extra-exertion can really take it out of you and leave you feeling depleted. And if you are an empath like I am, you may also notice that you are on energy absorption overload.
Empath – (loosely defined) A person who absorbs the emotions and energy of others involuntarily – click the hyperlink above for a more complete definition.
I thought it might be helpful to suggest a few ways to rejuvenate your energy field and reconnect you with yourself. Not so much as to say a new year a new you. More like revitalizing who you already are and clearing the way to let you shine in the new year!
Remember that these tips are really great tools not just to use when you are feeling depleted. They are good to incorporate into your daily, weekly, and monthly routines. You will find that taking a little time for personal restoration and care can be quite a transformative experience.
Please share in the comments if you have any suggested personal restoration tips or techniques or any of your own personal experiences. Remember this is an opportunity for us to all learn and grow together! I hope you chime in!
Happy New Year! And until next time!
Taking the Leap
Hey Friends! I am going skydiving for the first time for my 35th birthday and it has got me thinking; when was the last time you took the leap? When was the last time that you threw caution to the wind and took the chance you’ve been too afraid to take? Maybe it’s something huge, or maybe it just feels huge. Maybe it’s time to heal that relationship that’s been rocky… maybe it’s time to turn the page… maybe you’ve been wanting to start a project… maybe you just want to make a change. Whatever it is… the time is now. Do it! Stop worrying, stop letting fear rule your life. It’s time to face up to what you are afraid of. Stare it square in the face and tell it that you aren’t running anymore. Then see how you feel. Has anything changed? Has everything changed? Do you still feel stuck? Do you feel liberated? Do you feel something? Anything? Even scared? It’s ok to feel… It’s ok to be scared. It’s not ok to not feel. It’s not ok to ignore it. Life is meant to be lived, felt, experienced to the fullest. We are only here once! As my husband would say, we will never be here again! So take the leap! Choose to live, choose to feel, choose to be scared and do it anyway. Whatever is plaguing you, face it, embrace it! That is why we are here!
Today is the day to fall back in love with life, with yourself! If something isn’t working, address it. I know how it can feel when it seems like there are no answers, no way out. But the truth is, you always have more power than you know. You can make choices, you can choose to think differently, you can choose to see things from another perspective. Would that make a difference? Today, I will be choosing to see things from a birds-eye-view. I don’t know what that will change, but I am certain it will shift my view of life. That is the beautiful thing about being human. We are always growing, always changing, always able to shift our lives, our thoughts, our perspective. And frequently, that “trapped” feeling is actually a product of our conditioned mind that has been molded by society, our parents, our friends, our family. And that is wonderful, as long as it is working for you. But if you ever find that it is not, remember that you have the power to choose for yourself, think for yourself, live in your truth. So if you aren’t living your truth, today is the day for you to take the leap! Dive into the person you are instead of the person others have told you to be. Take a deep breath, take the leap, and take it in! As for me, I’m diving into the sky and planning to enjoy the sensation, the fear, the excitement, and the view. See you on the other side!
Love the life you have, Get the life you want
What if you lived your life believing that you had already accomplished your dreams? How might that change your mental state? What would you do if you weren’t worried about where you were headed because you had already arrived at your destination? Would you take more time to smell the roses? Would you find yourself feeling more peaceful? Would you be more appreciative of the journey and how you got to where you are?
My bet is that you would. So my question for you is, what are you waiting for? Why are you waiting to get somewhere else to be grateful for where you’re at. The world has conditioned us to believe that the journey is something to be endured only to arrive at our destination. But really, isn’t life meant to be lived, felt, experienced? And shouldn’t we feel grateful for those experiences we encounter on the journey of getting where we are going? So why are you missing it? Why are you belittling all that you are right now for a belief that what is coming will be, has to be, needs to be better?
I have a feeling your answer to that question is that you aren’t happy where you are? So what is there to relish? What is there to be grateful for when you’re working a horrible job while going to school in order to forge a better future? What if I told you that it is that very desperate and debilitating mindset that is actually generating that miserable experience you are feeling?
I know that we as humans do not generally like to accept responsibility for our misfortunes, but indulge me here. What if I told you that learning to find gratitude in where you are can transform your current experience and the negative vicious cycle you are generating begins to shift into a journey full of potential, opportunities and growth?
What would change by shifting that perspective? I am telling you everything would change. The reasoning here is two-fold. First, the most rewarding feeling you can have is to learn to appreciate where you are at. I mean, let’s face it. None of us are actually promised a tomorrow. And we can never truly be anywhere other than where we are at any present moment. So why are we waiting for tomorrow to find value in our lives? All we are ever guaranteed is where we are and what we have right now. The second reason living your life with gratitude for where you are, not just where you are going, impacts how you are communicating with the world about who you are and what you are attracting to yourself. When you focus on all that you do not have, you are sending a message to the universe that you are lacking in your life.
I know what you are probably thinking, Well I am? So why wouldn’t the world respond by giving me what I want? But that just isn’t how it works. It is sort of like the notion of misery loving company. The more you complain, the more you attract others who complain. Meanwhile, those who are trying to look at the more positive side of life tend to distance themselves from the complainer because it is hard to remain positive in the presence of negativity. And by distancing themselves from that negativity, they become more in tune with themselves and all that is good in their lives. They, in turn, tend to start noticing other things that are good around them. Other opportunities seem to present themselves that may have always been there, but they may have been too busy being negative to notice them. Perhaps others weren’t interested in sharing the opportunities with them on the assumption that they simply wouldn’t be interested since nothing seems to make them happy.
The ideology behind this is that when you live your life longing for what you do not have, you are coming from a place of lack. It actually affects how you make decisions and interact in the world. Now, of course, I am not suggesting that you spend money you do not have or anything of that nature. However, if you approach your life grateful for what you already have, you tend to make different choices, better choices that may lead you to your “better life”.
Maybe you are going through something challenging right now like changing careers or finishing school. If you are constantly focused on the struggle that change and starting over often tend to bring, then you are going to make more defeated choices. This could cause you to miss an extraordinary opportunity because you were so focused on your despair.
What if you imagined that you were already where you wanted to be? What if you recognized that where you are is setting you up for the future, not the waiting room for your future? How would that change your interaction with others? You would likely be a more pleasant person to be around. You would maybe make a new connection that might lead you to that big break. I really cannot promise you what would change, but things would change. Because you are now CHOOSING to be grateful for who you are and where you are in your life. And Gratitude is a powerful thing!