Sustain Don’t Drain Yourself… a self care practice for transforming the overwhelm, exhaustion and burnout
Yes, you want to take care of yourself. Yes, you want your life to feel in balance, in harmony. You want to feel vital, strong, and cared for. You know self care is good. Yet there are many things that can come into your ‘field’ (your body, mind, emotions, relationships, life) that drain your resources (time, energy, money, peace, life force)… and you simply can’t afford to have these things depleting you.
Self care is making sure that YOU receive what you need. Self care requires you never serve from your reserves. Which means you need to SUSTAIN not DRAIN your energy.
How? Well watch this self love spark I taped for YOUR HEART, to slow down, and take a look at your ‘field’ to see what is draining you. Be honest. Your life force depends on it.
I taped this video for you on the equinox, which is all about balance. It literally is the mid point between the solstices, and it’s a time to take stock of the field you’ve planted (think agriculture and growing crops which is a metaphor for the field and crop of your life each year.) And as you take stock of your personal field, your life, this is the time to choose to harvest what will sustain you over the winter and choose to compost that which is draining or no longer nurturing.
So, as you watch this video, really tune into yourself and honestly answer these two questions…
WHAT IN MY LIFE DRAINS ME?
WHAT IN MY LIFE SUSTAINS ME?
This could be relationships, jobs, situations, ways you work, finances, anything really. Don’t hold back. Be honest with yourself. Even if that means admitting your job, your kids, your whatever are draining you. Because once you can be honest about the drain, you can see the ways in which you can transform the drain into something that sustains you or at the very least stops draining you. And here’s the other thing to note – something that once sustained you could now drain you, and it’s up to you to see when that balance shifts, and then love yourself enough to respond to new circumstances and make the shifts inside of yourself and your life to create a most sustainable life.
Empower yourself to take care of yourself, right here on the self love blog, with these three steps …
ONE – “What currently drains me is… ” (admit and name one, be specific so you can see the drain)
TWO – “It also sustains me by...” (there’s some way it does give to you, and you want to keep this because it’s supportive)
THREE – And then make your self care claim…
I CHOOSE TO SUSTAIN MYSELF NOT DRAIN MYSELF! …
and then i will witness you!
Here i will go first.
“One…What currently drains me is having to figure out where Noah and I are going to be living, where home will be, because of our spiritual gypsy lifestyle. It drains me because I have to keep reorienting my energy to the new space, to other people’s space, so I never feel quite settled in myself. Two… It also sustains me by allowing me to travel to be wherever spirit guides me, or wherever I want to be, because I don’t have a mortgage or home or pets to take care of. Three… I CHOOSE TO SUSTAIN MYSELF NOT DRAIN MYSELF!”
(Note: This gypsy lifestyle has been perfect for me the last 17 months since I sold my home and Noah and I took to the road. And now, at equinox, as the seasons shift, it’s time for something new, because it’s draining me more than sustaining me. And now that I can see the pieces that drain and sustain I can make shift happen.)
So love… what is ready to shift for you ? What stand will you take to SUSTAIN not DRAIN yourself. Write it here on the self love blog, your stand for self care… what drains me… what sustains me…
