Managing your energy before (and on) vacation
I was coaching a client the other day who was getting ready to go offline for a week’s vacation in the woods – and was brimming with ideas and energy for her business.
We’d spent a number of sessions recently brainstorming, strategizing, creating, and action planning, and she was feeling the momentum.
“I want to move all these things forward and reach out to potential clients to invite them to work with me, but I’m about to be in the woods with no computer for the next ten days. Do I just hit pause on everything?!”
No way! She’d worked so hard to get in the groove, we didn’t want all that energy to just evaporate into the ether.
So we focused on how to work with various energies when heading out on vacation.
Harness Potential Energy
My client was worried about putting things in motion and then stepping away, or holding off on getting the ball rolling and losing momentum while she was out of town.
We developed a plan to harness the potential energy – think of a compressed spring ready to expand, or one of those toy cars that you back up so it can take off.
So she sent those emails while managing expectations about availability and sharing her excitement to connect when she’s back online.
We also came up with a game plan so she could capture ideas for future action, knowing that the woods rev her creative engine. She loves leaving herself voice memos. I’m an avid user of my notes app and small Moleskin journals that slip in my fanny pack. Ahem, belt bag.
There’s no one right way. Experiment until you find what works for you.
Work with Mother Earth
Of course, maybe you’re not in a groove. Maybe you’re burnt out. Either way, working with nature can help you come back to yourself and feel restored.
When we go into nature, we get to choose what we leave behind as well as what we absorb.
One great way to do this is through earthing – literally lying on the ground. As you do so, you can imagine any heaviness, stress, sadness, or worry melting off your body and into the earth below.
Because my clients tend to be the most tender-hearted and thoughtful people, they often have a hesitation around this: “But why would I want to send all that negativity into Mother Earth?”
Rest assured, Mother Earth can and wants to hold that for you. She loves you. Imagine all your negativity seeping through the layers of the earth, deep into the molten core, where it can melt down and return as a new magnetizing force.
As you release that into the ground and make space for what’s new, you can turn your attention upwards: feel the sun on your face, or the soft breeze over your body.
Allow that to wash gentleness over you. Soak up whatever you need to bolster you moving forward.
Trust the Unplugging
If you’ve been nervous about taking a proper vacation because you dread the backlog when you return, let me share a few stats that I hope help you prioritize time off.
NASA commissioned research that found that even just a few days of vacation increased people’s reaction time by a whopping 80%. (Also: If NASA is investigating the importance of time off, I think it’s safe to trust there’s something to it.
Research from the American Psychological Association found that when the brain can think positively, productivity improves by 31 percent, sales increase by 37 percent, and creativity and revenues can triple.
Research on elite athletes has shown that they can perform at optimal levels when they rest. If Serena Williams needs rest to excel, the rest of us surely do, too.
P.s. The Tending the Magic waitlist is now open! This 12-week course is for heart-centered and highly sensitive people who want to cultivate greater self-trust while bringing more ease, joy, and wonder to the everyday.
This program is designed to reunite you with the magical part of yourself – and learn how to share these delightful practices with the littles in your life.
The enchantment begins on September 7 -- I'd love to have you join us.
P.p.s. I finished building the Tending the Magic page yesterday, and it is probably the most beautiful page I've built since I started making websites in, I kid you not, 1999. Take a peek and let me know what you think?
