Tired of Living for the Weekend? The Energy Shift: What Your Vacation Mindset Reveals
"You don't have to be rich to live a rich life."
- Anonymous
or read below
Hi friends,
Welcome to Virgo Season which is some ways is a call “back to the daily routines and fundamentals of life”-like kids going back to school! Check out my astrology video for how to navigate the energy this week. This may be a good week for detoxing-be it with food, people, or activities that you are not 100% sure are enhancing your life. This simple elixir may be all you need to gain the clarity you seek for your next move.
This week I want to stretch your mind a little to dance with the possibility of being on perpetual vacation without being independently wealthy or having your own “sugar lover”. Not possible? Give it a read or watch before you dismiss it.
If you missed my last Facebook live on Essential Oils, you can watch the video! Join me this week as I will talk about Intuition and how this internal guidance superpower tool can truly unlock so many creative possibilities in all aspects of your life.
Are you in need of an adventure to give your eyes fresh perspective and to light up your spirit? Take a look at my Spain retreat to see what sensual delights can do for your overall wellbeing and next chapter of life.
What Your Vacation Mindset Reveals
Summer has always been my favorite season, not only because in Portland we actually see the sun but because it reminds me of what I call “vacay mode”. You know the feeling states and operating modes that switch on when you are on vacation. All those good feelings, the saying yes to dessert type attitudes, sleeping in, lounging, exploring, and doing what you want when you want vibe. You feel free even if for a very brief time.
But, what I always hated about “vacay mode” was the rude awakening that came the moment I returned home and back to work. It was a sudden jolt of the “back to reality” realization that the vacation had ended and those good vibes and freedom would have to wait until my next vacation. I always wished I could be on vacation all the time. It felt like stringing together vacations and living for time off was not really my best life. It seemed like the time allocation was reversed. I wanted vacation life to be my majority. Sound familiar?
There is something powerful that “vacay mode” was showing me. There is a common denominator and that was me. If I had the ability to be “Vacation Jill” and experience my best life on vacation then what was the difference in “normal life Jill”? You might be thinking that is easy. One is Jill with a large bank account or a Sugar Daddy and one is the Jill in the real life because life styles like that are for “those lucky people”. Turns out that is not the difference. Want to know what it was?
What I realized was my beliefs and choices were the only difference.
When I am in “vacay mode” here is what I noticed:
I allow myself to want what I want
I follow what I want without a lot of resistance or judgment
I am present and unrushed
I choose things to allow me to feel good be it food, activities, sleep, exercise, people
I explore and try new things
I believe that I can do all of the above
I am in the energy of gratitude and receptivity
Dominant emotional state: contentment, happy, excited, delighted
But when I got back it was like all of those choices and beliefs went out the window and I started behaving differently. I will refer to this other mode as “hustle” mode and here is what I noticed about it:
I was driven more by obligations, responsibilities and expectations that were externally imposed and these took up a majority if not all of my time
I seemed out of touch with what I wanted (did it matter I had stuff to do) or all I sensed was that I wanted to get it all done.
I was a queen multitasker and felt I was partially in the present, in the past and in the future with trying to keep all the balls of my life in the air and plan for the future
I often neglected things that I needed like more sleep, down time, time with friends, exercise at the expense of “work” or others.
I didn’t allocate much time for creativity, fun, free space, or just doing things that had no “productivity value”
I felt a victim to my schedule & habits so having space and time to explore new areas of interest or new ways of operating-well there was not a lot of time for that unless I sacrificed something else
I believed that this was “normal life as a single mom” business owner and there was no other way unless I made more money. Truly I didn’t believe vacay mode existed outside of vacations.
Dominant emotional state: Worried, frustrated, discouraged, “meh”, longing
This is what I know: Emotions are energy in motion. Thoughts are energy too and produce emotions. Emotions and thoughts influence how we act and vice versa. So, if I wanted a life that felt like “vacay mode” all year long then I needed some new thoughts because the ones I was running in “hustle mode” were not gonna get me there because they were simply not at the same frequency. Something had to change in my “normal” life to allow me to create the same emotions & thoughts that would align me with the capacity to receive in more experiences like vacay mode.
Truly I had to believe that something different was possible and the only way to change my beliefs would be to act differently.
So, I had I did a little exercise I was already doing with my consulting clients:
What did I need to STOP?
What thoughts/actions/emotions were holding me back and building the reality I wanted to change?
What choices were had to go because they fed these thoughts/feelings?
What did I need to START?
What kind of life did I want instead? How did I want to feel in this life?
What thoughts and beliefs would I have to hold? How would I behave if those beliefs were true?
How could I act this out now?
What could I CONTINUE?
What was currently yielding those emotions that I wanted more of?
How could I protect and continue the actions that yielded those emotions ?
It truly is a game of energy. What you feed grows. Where the attention goes the energy flows. So if I could spend more time feeding my attention to what was giving me those and limit the attention on those aspects in life that were perpetuating the “hustle me” then I would start to see a change and I did.
Now you may say, that sounds great but I can't just stop working or neglect my responsibilities. Maybe not from where you stand but I promise you, there are more choices and places that you can unhook your energy from than you think. Each of us most like has some aspects of their day in which you are giving attention and energy to something that does not warrant it.
Here was where I started:
STOP:
I chose to stop giving my time to tasks that drained my energy. I hired out some help for tasks that were time consuming and not enjoyable to free up time and energy. I said “no” to some engagements that normally I would have “shoulded” myself to do but that I realized I didn’t enjoy. I changed up my availability and schedule with my clients so that I could have time for things that I needed. No more early am and late night appointments that truly didn’t align with my life. No more long days at client sites when I knew I could not work in this manner.
START:
I started my day with ME first. Those activities and priorities that tended to get pushed aside despite how good they were for me. I blocked time in my day for the things that I have been “wanting to do”. I spent time planning and brainstorming ideas that I had put off until I “had more time”.
CONTINUE:
I noticed what I was really enjoying which was learning and I signed up for a course that interested me that would allow me to continue to be a student and to spark some new ideas.
What I observed:
People and situations changed and adapted to me. I didn’t miss some of things I took out of my day. I felt better and more opportunities to continue to modify and adapt my day became more readily available. I felt way more confident and empowered in my life and this is what ended up allowing me to self-belief to take the bigger leap that came later in which I could take bigger steps and leaps towards my “vacay mode” life.
The other day I was asked, what do you like to do on your time off. I smiled at that question because I don’t honestly see much difference between “working and time off” and no I am not independently wealthy. I simply decided that I was going live from a new paradigm and surprisingly life continues to follow my lead.
So, will you give yourself the time for this START-STOP-CONTINUE exercise and see how you can bring vacation mode to your every day experiences? Let me know what you find. This is a good week for this question!
Tools for Genius Living: Essential Oils
If you missed last week’s facebook live about the amazing allies of essential oils, you can watch it below. I share my top 10 oils and their super powers and how you can learn to leverage these tools in your daily life. Oils are truly timeless tools for helping us take ownership of our direction and healing.
Watch My Essential Oils As A Genius Tool Video
Support Practice Recommendations for this week
Mantras are powerful ways to remind us of our TRUE nature, our brilliance, our wholeness and our enoughness. When I am stuck in ruts, or desiring new things mantras can be powerful reminder to have on my desk, on my bathroom mirrors or in my car. I recite them when my mind goes to those dark places. I love to tie an essential oil with a mantra. You can recite sacred mantras or write your own.
What is a mantra you can craft that reminds you of who you are?