These are a few pictures of what's been going on in my life.

Life with a new pup, keeping my coaching business moving, going out of town on a Wednesday with my husband, and having fun at the same time.

WITHOUT THE DRAMA.

Personal story...

I used to tell myself that when my husband comes home from working out of the country, it was "exhausting" to switch schedules every few weeks.

I used to have thoughts that left me feeling resentful around scheduling and routines.

I also acted like there was something wrong.

NOTHING was wrong.

It was the way I was thinking about schedules, a new puppy, and managing my coaching business.

My friend, it's not the project deadline, difficult client, family member, the new puppy, or coworker that's creating the exhaustion that you're feeling.

It's the story you're telling yourself that is creating the exhaustion you're feeling.

Going through something similar?

Ask yourself the following:

1 Why am I acting like it's a problem when ______...

Empaths often get overwhelmed because we have a tendency to OVERGIVE. 

So I thought I'd leave you with a bit of encouragement today. 

If you could give ONE piece of encouragement for all to hear, what would it be? 

Here's mine: small acts of service are more natural than overgiving. 

Here's why: 

• Giving from your heart creates radiance around you.
• Overgiving is exhausting. You'll feel it in your body
• Small acts of service will leave you feeling like there's a spark of light that went off inside you.

How do you know that you're *NOT* overgiving? 

•  It feels natural.
• There's not any drama associated with your action.
• Your body signals and energy level will tell you that you've given just the right amount. 

Small acts of service can look like this: 

• Holding the door open for someone even when you're in a hurry. 
• Smiling at a stranger. 
• Give your friend or partner a compliment. 

Your action step: 

Get...

I’ve been involved with a few of the “empath” Facebook groups here and there and I’m seeing a common theme: empaths are not willing to take action to stop energy vampires from zapping their energy. 

It breaks my heart to read about all of the problems empaths are having with energy vampires but there's not a single thing I've read that promotes taking any type of action.

That's where I come in.

If there’s an empath problem, there’s a solution. And I'm here to give solutions. But it all starts with YOU. You must take some type of action to get to a place where you can stand in your own power and learn to STOP letting energy vampires feed on your life force. Yep - your energy. Whether it’s the controller, the victim, the narcissist, the space invader, or any type of energy vampire. 

The solution I'm about to offer you is NOT exciting. It might even seem like the silliest way to deal with energy vampires but hear me out…...

Have you ever been around someone who obsessively tried to control and dictate everything they thought you were supposed to be, do, have, and feel? 

These energy vampires have an opinion about everything and try to control you by invalidating your emotions especially if those emotions don’t fit into their rulebook.

They often start sentences with “You know what you need?” and then proceed to tell you. 

This ends up making you feel stuck, demeaned, and put down. 

We’re talking about the type of Energy Vampire called The Controller. This type of energy vampire can chip away at your self-worth and this can lead to depression and other physical symptoms.

Here are a few signs to watch out for: 

• They flatter you and shower you with gifts until you feel you owe them and have to be nice and return.
• Then... they gradually increase the pressure until they're not nice at all (and you're still being nice)
...

During the month of October, I'm adding to my Empath Collective library. This is one of the biggest projects I’ve taken on throughout the whole time my Empath Collective has been together. 

I’ve been working on this project for several months. It’s on the topic of Energy Vampires. ‍ 

I’ve been hesitant to cover this topic for a few reasons: 

1. I'm really careful about the energy surrounding each topic. If it's too negative, it might bring people down.
2. I'm also careful around labels because labels can stick and I believe that people really can change.

If you think you might have an energy vampire in your life, you’ll definitely want to keep reading and you might even want to join our Empath Collective. 

First things first... You've probably noticed that I frequently talk about energy fields. Yes, we all have this energetic border around us that determines our comfort level. This is also known as personal space. 

...

A few weeks ago our Empath Support Community had some fun with Empath Self-Care Bingo. We tried about 20+ different self-care activities with the idea that at least one activity would resonate with us.