Unleash your creative power in 2024

Imagine standing at a large glass window on a rocky shoreline, looking out at the vast ocean and the expansive sky above it. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine what that would look like and how that would feel.

Can you “see” the splendor of nature before you?

Can you sense the energy of the powerful moving water and hear the crashing waves on the rocks below the window? Can you see the graceful, swooping birds gliding on the wind currents?

This inspiring vista represents the year that lies ahead for you — an amazing year of limitless possibilities.

The vast space is filled with energy that you can tap into and use as fuel to create an incredible 2024!

The energy for creation is in you

The way that energy is generated and built in the natural world provides us with information we can apply in our lives, to create anything we want to bring into existence or elevate in our lives.

Here’s a bit of nerdy science to explain:

1. Just as in atomic structure, you can add energy to a stable system and create stability at a higher level. (With a hydrogen atom, for instance, you can add energy with a laser. The electron absorbs the energy and moves to a higher energy state. Got that?)

Interestingly, the process can go in the other direction. An electron at a higher level of energy can drop back down if its energy is dissipated or lost. It takes new energy to be put back in to get back up to the level it had.

2. Here’s another piece of information to consider, having to do with thermo-dynamics and entropy. (I promise, this will not hurt your brain!)

The fact is that the universe tends toward disorder, and that’s called entropy. If you let things erode, you need to put energy back into the system and then sustain that energy. You can even build more energy from there! 

We all know that nothing lasts forever, and our bodies, brains, even civilizations can crumble. The good news is that living things are designed to counter entropy!

3. Chemical reactions have something great to teach us. Activation energy is needed to bring several atoms together to make a molecule (think about 2 Hydrogen atoms and 1 Oxygen atom, to make water).

Any process that creates new things from already-existng things takes energy! (For water, a spark of heat or electricity does the trick.)

For us, it means not only having all of the parts ready and assembled, also adding an energetic ingredient.. 

What this means for you

When you:

• have the willingness to go beyond the edge of your comfort zone and trust yourself to do something that excites you

• believe that your desires and ideas matter, and that you have the power to take small steps forward

• commit to yourself and the effort that’s called for to create what you desire

• generate energy in your spirit and actions — a natural outgrowth of having the foundation I just described

• and stay in the process, so you continue to build energy, or start again when there is a setback

… you can create in limitless ways!

You can add spirit and emotion, too. While these are not as measurable, you can feel the energy of kindness, love, and joy. These all build positive emotional states.

Combine spirit and emotion with the scientific principles described above, you have powerful energy for fulfillment!

Let’s create a 2024 to remember!  

I kicked the year off leading a powerful new retreat last week, that was focused on the energy of creation (see some photos below!).

It was incredible, and I am designing more deep experiences for women to come together to get focused and clear, and generate creative energy to bring into their lives — and impact the world — as never before! 

And part of my focus for 2024 is to bring more of my work inside organizations. I support professional women to be able to bring more of their greatness forward, to have their biggest impact as they create lives they love. When this happens great culture is built, organizational success is accelerated, and great talent is retained.

If you want to hear more about any of what’s coming up — for you personally or your organization — get in touch!

How to love your to-do list

When you look at your to-do list do you feel overwhelmed? Most of us do!

We are busy with lots of things to do and we have many interests. We strive to achieve. We are passionate and eager to have an impact.

And day after day, all of those to-do's and desires add up and can feel heavy.

Try a new to-do approach

Here is a new way you can orient yourself to all the things on your to-do list. With your latest to-do list in hand, grab a fresh sheet of paper and follow these steps:

1. Focus on what brings you joy.

Scan the old list and put a bright-colored, big star next to the items that make you happy to think about doing. Be sure to also mark those things that will lead to outcomes that make you smile to envision — whether they are short-term or longer-term outcomes.

Start a new list, write “JOY!” at the top, and write those starred things on the list.

2. Create the next category — things you want to do.

Look through what is left on your old list and add a new colored bullet next to things you want to do. The “wants” need not be quite as exciting as your starred “joy” items, but they are a close second and belong on your new list.

Add them in the next tier of your new list, under the heading “WANT!”.

3. Take note of any “shoulds” on your old list.

If you see things that are there because you feel you “should” do them — whether that “should” was imposed by someone else or comes from your own thoughts — mark those “shoulds” with a big “X”.

Determine to drop those things!

That said, if you realize you do want to do any of them for some reason, reframe them as something you “want” to do and add them to the new list in the second tier. (Then, when you see them in the want category, you will approach them with a positive feeling.)

4. Identify things that need to be done.

We all have things on our lists that have to be done — but often we put things into this category when they really may not need to be there. Assess and mark the “need to be done” items with care, and add those to the next tier on your new list — labeled “NEEDS TO BE DONE”.

The trick here is to get these to-do’s done as quickly as possible. That will relieve the stress of seeing them linger on your list — or the stress of bearing the consequences if deadlines are missed.

The ideal way to get the “NEEDS TO BE DONE” to-do’s done quickly is to delegate them to others who can do them for you!

Make a sub-list of the items you can delegate. Be sure to put a check next to those items as you hand them off, and cross them off when you get confirmation they have been taken care of.

5. Look at what may be left on your old list

Are there any orphaned items, that did not get transfer to your new top tier JOY items, the second-tier WANT items, or the NEEDS TO BE DONE tier?

Think a bit about anything that has not been assigned. Might those to-do’s be delegated?

If you determine that they are not that meaningful or important to you, can you drop them?

Letting go of things is easier after careful consideration, and doing that can be liberating!

Assess your energy now

By working from your new list, making the things that fill you with delight — or will feel exciting to achieve — your top focus, you are bound to feel positive energy.

Being guided by the new list will help you keep from spreading yourself too thin; you’ll avoid the struggle of trying to do too many things.

Rather than feeling depleted and frustrated by not getting enough traction on things you care about the most, keeping your focus on what lights you up will feel wonderful!

That's how you can hit the sweet spot for where to put your precious time and attention.

And that feeling of rich energy will not only support you as you move through your tasks, it will help everything in your life to feel lighter and better.

On top of that, everyone around you will sense your positive energy. Taking this new approach to your to-do’s, you will not only help yourself, you will help others in subtle and meaningful ways.

More ideas are on the way

Next week I will go deeper into this subject, to give you more insights and suggestions to help you live each day in the flow of positive energy.

Learning how to leverage your energy, in many small effective ways, will fuel your life and help you live big!

If you want to talk about the ways you can live a life that is fueled by more positive energy, to get past stress, fears or doubts, I invite you to schedule aLive Big Breakthrough Call with me.

I'll be glad to give you new insights and perspectives about what hinders your energy, hear about the dreams you have for your future, and talk about what’s possible for you. We can explore if my coaching is a fit for you — and if not, there’s no problem. We’ll sort out your next best step.

Stay safe and well, and keep creating.

Here’s a sure fix to stop sabotaging yourself

I think a lot about the words I use, and as a coach I listen carefully to the words I hear others use. What I hear often surprises me.

The biggest surprises typically relate to the ways people speak about themselves, and how they share the ways they speak to themselves.

The words we choose really matter

First, think about how you talk about yourself.

I frequently hear people speaking about themselves in ways they would not speak to others. And they often fail to have awareness about the harshness of the words they use, whereas had they heard those same words from someone else they would bristle.

A statement like, “I was out of control yesterday, and really screwed up,” is a good example.

If it was changed to something like this: “I had a tough day yesterday. With all the stress of trying to do more than was reasonable, the draft I turned in was not my best effort. I’ll improve it tomorrow.” the speaker would feel a lot better.

With awareness, you can shift to ways of speaking so that you stop beating yourself up and cutting yourself down. Imagine how that would support you as you moved forward.

Consider the self-talk in your head, too.

When we heap negative or harsh self-talk on ourselves, it chips away at our belief in what is possible for ourselves. That doubt is a confidence-killer. As a result, so much that is possible is never even attempted.

Just as you would not tell a child they are not smart enough to learn something, or discourage them from trying to do something they really want to explore, adults often give themselves damaging messages just like that.

By paying attention to the words you use in your head, you can choose encouraging, self-loving, positive language, that will help you to feel optimistic about moving forward.

Do you lock yourself in with negative statements?

I also feel sad when I hear people use negative language that is “fixed” about themselves.

I frequently hear statements like these:

“I’m terrible at thinking on my feet in a meeting.”
“I can never get projects done on time.”
“I hate sales and will never get good at it.”

When we declare these types of things that have been a struggle for us as being true and fixed, we keep ourselves stuck in that limitation. By stating instead, “In the past I have felt stressed in selling conversations,” we keep the door open to possibility, learning and change.

Do you “should” yourself?

The word “should” is one of the worst offenders, and crops up everywhere — in the ways we talk about ourselves, to ourselves, and lock ourselves in to limitation. This judgmental word causes unhappiness and damages people in countless ways.

Rather than saying, “I should...” see what happens when you change your thinking to what you want, or what needs to be done for a reason that matters to you.

“Shoulds” are rooted in external pressures or the expectations of others. When you feel agency in your life and in the world, you can let go of the “shoulds.”

Change your self-talk and change your life

Bear in mind that the words that hold us back also impact our energy. And the energy we hold in every action we take has a tremendous impact on our outcomes.

Imagine turning around any of the negative examples I have shared above, or any that have popped into your thoughts while you’ve been reading this.

Now imagine taking action with the energy of the negative messages running in your head, and compare it to the energy you’d feel if you held the positive messages in your thoughts.

The outcomes of every effort, or conversation, or even what you can imagine to be possible will be so much more expansive and will hold so much promise when you use positive words that delivery positive energy to fuel you.

It takes some attention to focus and catch yourself when you use language that limits you, so that you can reframe the words you use.

With practice, awareness and attention, you will start to tune into the language you hear and appreciate positive expression. You will also be aware of negativity.

One example of a negative use of words that I frequently notice, is the word “anxious” when someone means “eager.” For example, they’ll say, “I am anxious to attend that concert!” when they just told you how much they love the performer and their music. Listen to the energy of the sentence when it’s changed to, “I am eager to attend that concert!”

In time it will be get easier, and even automatic for you to notice negative talk on the spot and reframe each message. And you will get used to the fun of feeling the new energy that comes along for the ride when you make those changes.

Stay safe and well, and keep creating.

There’s a superpower you can claim today

On Saturday night I returned from a 3-day retreat that fired-up me up with energy and inspiration! The energy of that time away, in the company of a great leader and truly remarkable people, carried me though the weekend and is lighting me up as I’m heading into the week.

While energy was a theme we kept coming back to in the big work we did together at the retreat, it is something I am always aware of.

And energy is an important focus of my coaching work.

The energy you bring to everything you do matters more than you may realize

Think of something that makes you feel excited, full of energy. What do you love to do that lights you up?

That feeling is what my coach and mentor calls feeling “energy-rich.”

She believes in creating a business that is centered on doing what is energy-rich for you, and steering away from things that drain your energy. (That said, there are things we all must do that are not in our sweet-spot for high energy. In those cases, planning to get help will lead to success with more ease.)

Because when you focus on the things that are energy-rich — whatever they are for you — everything is easier, goes better, and is more fun.

And, the energy you bring to everything in your life works the same way!

Your energy impacts your outcomes

Living and working with a focus on a mission or purpose gives you a head-start on bringing good energy to your tasks each day.

But even then, we all have challenges that pull our energy down.

The first step is to notice when you feel “energy-poor,” then identify what’s pulling your energy down.

Rather than muscling ahead while feeling low, see if you can make it a practice to pay attention to how you are feeling. When you pause with intention and notice that your energy is lagging, you can explore the reason your energy is low.

You might want to use my Discovery Dozen™ tool (it’s provided in many of the exercises in my book, Live Big, and can be adapted in countless ways) to get to the root causes. Or you can start by considering questions like these:

Did you have a bad night’s sleep, or eat poorly?

Did you slip into comparing yourself to someone, or feeling like an impostor?

Do you doubt your ability to do a task or project well enough?

Are you feeling afraid? Of what?

I always suggest that you jot down the thoughts that come to mind as you answer questions like these. Writing by hand, and exploring the reasons, can accelerate your clarity.

Next, look for ways to shift back to a more positive energetic state.

If you can rectify something with ease — like eating a nutritious meal, or taking a nap, or walking around the block — by all means start there. Maybe you will want to place a call to someone who believes in you, who can remind you that you have done hard things before, to give you a boost of confidence and love.

And it’s always helpful to reconnect to why this task, or project, important.

Why did you choose it or say “Yes” to doing it? Why is this conversation, or project, or effort important? Why does this matter? The answers can be a great way for you to find good energy.

And if you consider the why, and realize there isn’t a good one there —maybe you said “Yes” just to please someone or avoid conflict, or you realize this is not meaningful for you, or you realize you can delegate the task to someone else, or maybe it is not aligned to your integrity — you can make a new decision. Saying “No” may be the decision that brings you back to a high energetic state.

Your energy can be a super-power

When you focus on staying in a state of high energy, and learn to feel the feelings and restore your energy when it flags, you will notice real shifts in your life.

Remember that the energy with which you create anything will impact the quality of what you create! Because when you are fueled with excitement, motivation, purpose, and joy, everything that you create will be enriched!

Why not start every day with the intention to be aware of your energy, and to stay as energy-rich as possible?

This is one practice anyone can do, and it can become a habit. After a while it can become as automatic as brushing your teeth each day.

Can you imagine feeling energy-rich throughout your body? I invite you to embody that feeling!

Right now, consider what the rest of today can look like with that awareness and intention. Now get started and see how it goes!

I’d be delighted for you to email me or leave a comment to let me know how you experience magic in your life when you focus on feeling energy-rich each day.

Stay safe and well, and keep creating.

What I learned this year — and how you can learn from me

Saturday was the one year anniversary of the day my book launched — Live Big: A Manifesto for a Creative Live has celebrated its first year in the world!

January 30 is a clear marker in time for me, and it’s exciting to recall all that's happened in the year related to publishing and introducing my book.

We have all thought a lot about the unexpected impact of the pandemic in 2020, something I could not imagine lay ahead on the day of the launch. I had so many plans that fell away or changed when we went into lockdown.

Many of us have have focused on recalling the challenges of 2020. There certainly were lots of them, and we have a long road ahead to be sure. And yet, we can always chose the filter for our reflections.

When I reflect on the first year LIVE BIG has been in the world I feel enormous gratitude.

I am grateful for everything I learned on my journey of writing and publishing the book. (In fact, I could write another book about that journey!) Most of all, I appreciate the steep learning curve I climbed and that I did not give up, even when things got complicated and frustrating.

I am grateful for the amazing reviews that I reached out and requested, and were written for the book in advance.

I am grateful for, and proud of, how I stepped into being visible in a bigger way, overcoming the discomfort of doing Facebook Lives, then hosting a live 3-hour launch party. I am also proud about the speaking and podcast appearances I now feel at ease doing, but which were a stretch back in early 2020.

I am grateful that I sought out and received wonderful help and support from many special people, without whom this project and the launch would have been far different.

I am grateful that I created new and exciting ways to share the story of the book, when book signings and personal appearances were not possible.

Most of all, I am grateful for the many readers who have not only shared their enthusiasm for the book, many in 5-star Amazon reviews and in notes to me (one included the photo above!), they also gifted the book to friends, family members and clients. That is a huge honor and it fills my heart with joy.

What can you look back on with gratitude — and how can you carry that energy into 2021?

We can all find evidence of ways we learned, responded and created in new ways in 2020 that can inspire us now.

As we step into this second month of the year, what lessons learned, what insights and appreciations can you take note of to build on, to make this year one you can look back on with pride and gratitude?

Why not take some time for reflection? Make notes of all the things for which you feel grateful.

If there are big things, like a major project you worked on or completed, break down all the parts that you can appreciate, and savor each one.

And be sure you note the small things from last year — like setting a good boundary, or making more time for self-care, or having the courage to have an important conversation that was on your mind, or responding to new challenges with fresh ideas. Often what we think of as small things have enormous importance, so don’t overlook or minimize any of the small things.

When you leverage the energy of gratitude remarkable things can happen.

I lived a long time without the insights I share with you each week. Learning about and bringing gratitude into my life in a focused way is one great asset I now make a focus each day.

Your path to living a bigger, happier, more satisfying life does not need to be as steep or take as long as my path took me.

And you don’t need to figure it out alone.

I am happiest when I help other women to get past their limitations, learn to bring great tools into their lives, and step into truly living big. Let’s have a conversation about what's happening in your life, the dreams and desires in your heart, and how you can get past what limits you to live the life you want.

I invite you to book a Live Big Breakthrough Call with me, or email me directly and we’ll make a date to talk.

Stay safe and well, and keep creating.

We always get to choose

I recently got a wake-up call. You know the kind. When someone you love has died, and someone else you love is suddenly diagnosed with advanced illness, a lot shifts into perspective.

The big question that moves to the top of the mental list becomes, “What really matters?” 

And truly, that’s the question we need to be considering each day. That’s where our attention is best placed.

Do you have clarity about your priorities? If not, this is a great time to slow down and give it some thought.

Next, consider these three questions:

1. Are you choosing fear or love?

It’s easy to get caught up in fear — about viruses, about what’s around the next corner, about the political climate, and so much more.

When we allow fear to run the show we are inviting roadblocks to get in the way of what we decided was really important. 

Instead, we can orient ourselves to operate from the space of love.

What does that look like? 

It means choosing to love ourselves. We can focus on ramping up self-care, like getting plenty of sleep, and walking outdoors, or meditating to stay calm. Even something as simple as taking a minute or two to get quiet and tune into your breath works wonders.

We can also focus on love as we connect more to important people in our lives. These may be people we see every day, at home or work, as we make space for especially meaningful conversations. It may be reaching out to people we care about but have not spoken to in a long time.

When we operate with an orientation of love, we not only help ourselves and feel more positivity and happiness, but love ripples out in beautiful ways.

2. Are you choosing action?

After getting focused on what matters to you, are you setting intentions to get into action and stay in motion? Ideas are great, but many people stop there. It’s in commiting to actively doing that you will find satisfaction.

There’s a bonus to being in action, too. When we are active — whether we’re physically active, or actively engaged in an important project — fear has less opportunity to limit us.

3. Are you choosing inspiration?

There are many ways to stay energized and inspired. Rather than being caught up in drama, intentionally turn your attention to things that keep you energized.

Did you read inspiring stories on International Women's Day? Did you meet someone whose ideas are remarkable? Did you read a fabulous book or see a great film? Did you spot wonder around you (maybe see a surprising way the light filtered in your window, or hear a magical bird call)?

When you choose to bring your attention back to people and ideas and art that inspire you, you have incredible fuel to keep pursuing the things you’ve determined matter most.

We all have the opportunity to grow and expand day by day, as we make choices with care. We all have important work to bring into the world, unhindered by fear. 

What better way could there be to respond to a wake-up?

Leave a comment and share the ways you are choosing to focus your attention and efforts.

And, if you are curious about how coaching can support you to live your best life — as you are pondering what’s next, or if you feel stuck, or as you are navigating a big transition — let’s make a date to talk. Private Creative Core Coaching might be a life-changing resource for you. 

I currently have one more spot available for one-on-one coaching. And with the exciting activity that’s developing around my book, Live Big: A Manifesto for a Creative Life, I may not be taking on additional private clients for some time. 

If you are ready to take a serious step to start living the life you yearn for, it can start here.

How to realign when you’ve lost momentum

We all get off track from time to time. This happened to me last week. After a great (but hectic) week of business travel I returned to lead a retreat with my group coaching clients. While I loved it all, it wasn’t long before my body had had enough.

I first lost my voice, then lost energy and got achy, and I had no choice but to slow down, rest, and heal for the rest of week two.

Happily, I am now on the mend. But I am facing a big back-log of tasks. 

It’s a challenge to get back in your groove when you have been knocked off course — whether by travel, illness, a family emergency, an emotional rough patch, or anything else.

Here are 3 tips I use to get back on track

1. Go slow

If you are anything like me and the accomplished women I work with, you are an achiever. You work hard — often too hard. This is not the time to follow your impulse is to jump back in and tackle your backlog fast. You will likely sabotage yourself with that approach.

Be thoughtful as you give yourself permission to build up to your usually pace.

Ask yourself these questions:
• What can I delegate, get help with, or defer?
• What to-do's have the highest priority, that I can map on my calendar now?
• What low-hanging fruit can I batch and take care of quickly?
• How can best I communicate to those waiting for replies that I will get back to them soon?

Resist the urge to over-promise. It’s always better to set a reasonable expectation and meet it — or delivery early.

2. Show yourself some love

You may need to set a later wake-up alarm than usual, or skip your usual morning work-out. Or, you may find you have a productive morning and then your energy wanes. Listen to your body! Give yourself the rest, nutrition and movement that you need. 

If your muscles ache, schedule a massage. If a nap will refresh you, go for it! If you are stressed, take a break and meditate, draw, or walk around the block. 

Self care now, coupled with self-compassion, will pay big dividends.

3. Steadily pick up the pace

You will know when you are ready to work a full day again. In most cases, careful pacing and attention to self care will help you to catch up and resume your usual routines fairly quickly.

This is a great time to reflect and reassess. Think about the balance in your life, and the intensity at which you had become accustomed to living. Maybe pushing a bit less hard is a better pace for you in the long run. Maybe you discovered some new ways to work smarter, not harder. Maybe you introduced some self-care that you want to continue and make your ”new normal.“ 

This challenging period can teach you a lot. Take note of your insights.

I'd love for you to share what works best for you at times like these. We can all learn from one another. Or, if you have particular questions, ask them. Leave comments below, or email me, and I can share this feedback in a future post.

What’s to be done about emotional clutter?

As you consider that question, you may be wondering what I mean by “emotional clutter.” When I think about clutter of any kind, I think of a mess — a jumble that is confusing and complicated and filled with things that can be eliminated in order to create calm and order. In the emotional realm, clutter is similar. A mess of emotions includes many that are needlessly complex and often undesirable. Messes like that typically grow without awareness.  

If you’re a regular reader, you know that I have been thinking a lot about how we can simplify our cluttered lives. I recently wrote about starting with a focus on you (read The gift of simplifying here). I also urged you to consider the importance of decluttering your environment — and had tips to help you tackle that clutter (read Just say “no” here). 

Something important tied those two concepts together: saying “no.”

Learning what to say “no” to, and saying it with comfort (and without guilt!) is a key skill to build to simplify your life.

Today, I am thinking about another dimension of decluttering that will help you to simplify a hectic life — emotional decluttering. We often overlook the impact of emotional clutter in our lives, which builds when we don’t pay attention to it, and when we don’t consciously say “no” to tame it. 

Why is it important to do emotional decluttering?

In much the same way that a cluttered physical environment contributes to making us feel overwhelmed, we are often in a swirl of emotional clutter. And when we let that clutter fester and grow, it adds enormous stress to daily life. Emotional clutter distracts us, distresses us, and drains our energy. We pay a high price when our energy is sapped.

So, the question arises: What can we do to declutter a life plagued by emotional mess? Try this exercise and see what happens: 

Make a list of ENERGY DRAINERS

Start with a clean sheet of paper. Think about what you may be putting up with, and start listing what comes to mind. Consider what you put up with in both your personal life and at work. What do you tolerate, even grudgingly, that creates resentment, frustration, or anger?

Next, think about things you’ve taken on or accepted that drag you down emotionally and/or energetically. Your list can include people or situations in your life. This may take some careful thought, because we often take things on or accept things that drain us emotionally without being aware of, or acknowledging, the negative consequences.

Look at your list. Consider that these things often drain your energy for positive activities, and that they can impact your thinking in negative ways. Give some thought to that impact. Consider how long the things on your list have been influencing your life and the consequences of bearing the ongoing emotional clutter.

You may or may not choose to actively do anything about the things on your list now, and that’s fine. Simply becoming aware of them and articulating them will make you more alert to where they interfere and will also build awareness about their impact. With that new awareness, you may naturally start to address, or eliminate, or resolve them. 

And, you may decide that you are ready to make deliberate changes — ready to say “no” to the emotional clutter that is sapping your energy. If you are ready to take action, start by choosing an item or two on your list that you feel most comfortable addressing. Take small steps, and continue as you feel ready to address more of the troubling items on your list.

As I have often said, it’s okay to ask for help

Just the way there are some household and office decluttering challenges that are best tackled with the help of a professional organizer, there can be challenges clearing emotional clutter that feel daunting to take on alone. It may be easier for you to say “no” to the excess “stuff” in your environment than to making changes in the realm of emotional clutter, where habits are often deeply entrenched.

Coaching can be valuable if you are ready to make a commitment to shifting the mindsets that hamper you, so that you can stop saying “yes” when you truly want to say “no.” It will provide support and guidance for you to set healthy boundaries of many kinds in your life, so that you can live without emotional clutter — and live big.

What I’m learning from my body

I had surgery in late July. While not “serious”, this was a much bigger deal than anything I’d experienced before (the procedure entailed four hours of general anesthesia). Happily, I spent only one night in the hospital. I am enormously grateful for the excellent care I received and that everything went well. I am now past the half-way mark of the predicted six weeks of recovery, and I am happy that the healing process has been going smoothly.

As I reflect on my day-to-day experiences in these weeks I find that I am in awe of the physical body and how it heals when you give it rest and respect. I had intentionally wrapped up lots of work beforehand so that I could focus on healing, and that has proved to be a great decision — and one that has eliminated stress from my life. That said, I am learning a lot about myself and things about the mind and body that I took for granted before this episode.

Like many of us in the modern world, my work is based largely in my head. I think, I plan, I write, I coach in deep conversations — most of the time while sitting at a desk. When I walk or do yoga (something I am really missing now!) and when I paint in the studio or sculpt, I am engaged physically. And, I used to think that those were the times that required most of my energy. After all, when you are sitting, well, you are sitting!

Here’s what I’ve learned in the last few weeks. The walks I have taken (as prescribed by my doctors) have been a breeze compared to the fatigue I have experienced doing the little work I have put in in my office. Whether I am taking care of small administrative matters that cannot wait, or coaching the few clients I have continued to see during my “medical leave”, it’s the mental work that has taken a toll on my energy. The focus, concentration, attention and careful listening in a conversation are much more tiring than going up and down stairs or walking outside for 30 or 40 minutes.

I realize that I must honor and respect the energy I have — and use it wisely. I must expend my energy with awareness. I have to acknowledge and plan for the impact that doing “head-based” work will have on my well-being. I have to have balance and ample rest.

And, I realize that even when my energy levels are back to normal in the fall, I will have an opportunity to keep this awareness about my energy in my mind. I will be able to honor the hard work of mental focus, and appreciate the gifts that physical activity offer me. I will aim for balance, knowing that the opportunity to use the body more brings great rewards. I want to have physical strength and the pleasures of using my body, even as I love the intellectual parts of my life. And, I predict that creativity will flourish with these conditions in place.

As the summer winds down, and we move out of a “vacation” mindset and gear up for more intense work, school, and social activities, I hope you will think about and honor your energy. When you use your energy with awareness, you can truly create a rich and balanced life, one day at a time. Many of us are so excited about our big ambitions that we overload ourselves and struggle. Realizing that we can actually do more by slowing down, focusing on our priorities, and bringing awareness to the way we expend our energy can be a game-changer.

How do you find ways to balance the mental and physical, to honor and respect your energy and to seeing the rewards of this approach to living?

I received a lovely small coloring book as a gift and discovered that this is a special way to be creative that I had not appreciated before. Watching the pages come alive with color has been a delight.