Protect Your Energy
Protect your energy this upcoming silly season.
Photo taken by Lacie Wilkinson (@wilkinsonandco), Model is Holly Fraser and Hair styled by Jess Longhurst
The silly season. A period of time where each and every time gap in your schedule is filled with an attention grabbing task requiring your energy. Whether it be work, social events, physical exercise… it’s a never ending cycle, almost emulating a hamster wheel sensation. Sounds exhausting right? Whilst each and every empty pocket can and has the potential to be filled, it doesn’t necessarily mean it should or needs to be. Imagine a great pair of pants. You might have 1, 2, 3 or if you’re lucky 4 empty pockets to fill. But if you fill those pockets with heavy essential items continually, everyday… over time, the drawstring or elastic might wear thin and your pants will begin to fall… not ideal to say the least. Much like a pair of pants your energy requires moments of emptiness or solitude to remain afloat. A weird analogy but let's run with it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are great pairs of pants out there that can hold everything you desire to fill them with but if you’re a little like me, sometimes finding the moments in the nothingness and sitting in it can be quite therapeutic or it might even be the moment that your social battery recharges. Speaking from experience, it leads for a much happier recharged state of being which means we can use that energy to be there for the people we love. If this sounds a little like you, I’m about to provide a few helpful habits you can implement (if you haven’t already) which might be your saving grace entering the silly season.
Make time for YOU
This one may be the obvious choice for those seeking the replenishment of their energy but actively pursuing the action of making time for yourself might not be a linear journey. This might look different for each individual as we all have unique things that make us happy. However, if you’re not sure what those things are, I do suggest trying a bunch of different activities or hobbies to see what works for you. It might be something adventurous like a solo camping trip or nature walk, it could be as simple as making 1-2 nights a week, dedicated to self care. A longer shower, with a candle, face/hair masks (highly recommend the Christophe Robin Hydrating Melting Mask btw), speaker on the highest volume and maybe top it off with your favourite book or movie. Simple but effective tasks to centre that energy and remind you what makes YOU happy. Communicating if you need space or time alone to those around you is also a very healthy way of making sure you get the time needed whilst also letting others around you know that you still care. At the end of the day, external influences or people may come and go but you’ll always have yourself. Take care of that.
Compassion over anger, implementing empathy
If there is one thing I have learnt over the last few years, it is to always lead with compassion over anger. Trust me, I’m extremely aware that it’s easier said than done but once you start implementing that mindset it’s truly a game changer for how you approach the people surrounding you. Whether it be your best friend, partner or even a stranger, channeling the empath in you (comes easier to some than others), allows you enter situations throughout your day-to-day life with a relaxed, open and communicative nature. Which in theory usually results in a happier outcome. An example of this would be if an individual says something you don’t particularly agree with or perhaps even a little demeaning. Choosing to be compassionate towards where that might of stemmed from rather than rage is a much healthier approach making them feel heard. I’m not saying to not stick up for yourself but after they feel heard, usually it opens up a line of communication between both parties in which you can reason or maybe agree to disagree, which is okay. Never be afraid to disagree.
Channel the chaos
Silly season calls for chaos. Over filled schedules, overwhelming emotions and less time for self care. However, if you learn to channel that chaotic energy and perhaps turn it into motivation or passion it can become less chaotic. I’ve always thought that a little bit of chaos never goes astray though, keeps life a bit interesting and keeps your mind occupied, two things I love. However, it is useful to be aware of the possibility of it turning into overwhelm, this is when the channeling comes in handy. Pour that passion and motivation into work, projects you’ve been working on or maybe even physical exercise. Nothing like a hard gym session to burn all that extra chaos, which I know sounds like a quick fix but if you keep working at the small things, they all add up eventually. If you don’t get that same release from the gym as some others do, then maybe a good long nature walk will do the trick. A little exercise I do when in nature is stop and listen to the sounds around me and really look at my surroundings, I almost always find something I had never noticed before or feel a lot more relaxed and grounded.
Allow yourself to feel
Allowing yourself to be sad, angry, confused, frustrated… the list goes on but making it okay for yourself to feel these emotions helps process these feelings in a more rationalised way usually resulting in healing. Everyone obviously feels different emotions to different extents therefore it’s completely impossible to know how long the healing process will take. Could be overnight, might be a few months but understanding that all good things come in good time with a bit of patience.
Wishing you all the very best of luck entering this season. Always remember to do what makes YOU happy and don’t be afraid to let people know you love them. Connection is such a beautiful gift we all have the ability to give.