Can you believe it's already March?! So far this year we've explored recognizing your energy patterns, building sustainable routines, and creating flexibility in those systems.
Today, we're bringing it all together with with how what may seem like separate practices actually is interconnected beneath the surface of your life, supporting you... like an entire ecosystem.
But before we dive in, I want to talk about what's next here! Starting next week, this space will evolve into a slightly new format to go along with the shift in seasons as we get ready for spring! At the end of today's newsletter, you'll find three different options I'm considering, and I'd love your vote on which resonates the most with you!
Now, let's dive into today's topic on how all the elements of energy management connect...
You Own Wood Wide Web
Anywhere you find vegitation on earth, you will find a mycorrhizal network (also sometimes called a mycellium network.) This system of fungal threads connects plants and trees in a root-like structure that also wraps around and grows into tree roots to help plants compete with environmental stressors and support each other. On the surface, you might just see mushrooms popping up here and there. But beneath the soil, there's an intricate web connecting everything, transferring nutrients, and supporting the entire ecosystem (often out of sight.)
Your energy management system works the same way.
You might notice individual improvements when you track your energy (like feeling less afternoon fatigue) or when you build a flexible routine (like getting started easier or having focus when you need it).
But what's happening beneath the surfaceâthe connections between these practicesâis where the real magic happens.
This is what the WEAL framework helps you build:
Witness âĄď¸ Explore âĄď¸ Adapt âĄď¸ Learn + Loop
Each component isn't just a standalone practice but part of an interconnected system that gets stronger the more those connections develop.
I experienced this firsthand with my own movement practice journey. For years, I had a walkpad gathering dust and an on-again, off-again relationship with outdoor walks (where I mostly saw sunlight because my dogs needed to go out, not because I was actively choosing movement for myself.)
When I started applying the complete framework, I completely changed my relationship with movement:
First, I witnessed my pattern of avoiding movementâwhich was the easy part. I knew I wanted movement to feel good, not because I "should," but this situation called for looking deeper because I didn't have a lot of current information that could give me a pattern. So I did some reflection into the past to find when movement had felt joyful rather than mandatory.
Then I explored those patterns and discovered all my joyful movement experiences had two things in common: learning and group activities. Kickboxing, dance classes, barreâeach combined mental engagement with physical movement. Real time image of my face when this dawned on me: đ¤Ż
This ah-ha moment led me to adapt my approach completely. Instead of forcing myself onto the walkpad or relying on "have to" activities, I created a two-week experiment where I dedicated 30 minutes once a week to finding YouTube videos for different dance and exercise routines that I could choose from based on my daily mood and energy creating my Energy Navigator and Personal Menus. I bookmarked them to eliminate decision fatigue in the moment.
The results were immediate AND lasting.
I worked out more, started with more manageable options, and felt better overallâfinding I held less stress in my shoulders and jaw while also reducing my back pain.
But the framework doesn't stop there. I continued to learn from the experiment, noticing I needed videos where I could slow things down to match my current abilities. So I looped back to adapt my approach again, updating my options and formalizing time every couple weeks to sit down and update new routines for variety.
Now I'm not just working out moreâI've created a sustainable system with both structure in options and flexibility in execution. I have different movement choices for different energy levels, and I know that if I run into roadblocks, I'm equipped to loop through the process again. And for now, I get to let myself live in this new routine and build up the habit muscle.
This is the power of the complete framework (not just individual techniques.)
As you do this to support different needs, you develop a connected, living system that continues to grow beneath the surface of your life, supporting you in ways you might not always see but will definitely feel.
To wrap up this series in the newsletter...
Try This:
Your Framework Assessment
When embarking on a new process or journey, it's helpful to know where you are starting from so you can acknowledge progress and ensure your expectations are realistic and sustainable. Today's exercise is geared towards helping you do just that.
Set a timer for 15+ minutes and sit down with a journal to work through the following prompts:
- When you think about your awareness of your energy patterns, where do you feel strongest â noticing physical, emotional, or mental energy shifts?
- When have you successfully recognized an energy pattern that you previously might have missed? What helped you notice it?
- What connections have you started to notice between different areas of your life (work, relationships, creative pursuits) and your energy?
- Which environments or activities help you naturally explore and understand your patterns better?
- Where do you feel resistance when trying to adapt your systems or routines? What might this resistance be trying to tell you?
- What's one area where you've successfully created a flexible system that honors your natural rhythms? What makes it work?
- When you hit an obstacle with a system or routine, what's your typical first response? How might you approach it differently using the WEAL framework?
- Looking at the WEAL framework (Witness, Explore, Adapt, Learn & Loop), which component feels most natural to you? Which feels most challenging?
- What's one small practice you could implement this week to strengthen your weakest area in the framework?
- What support systems would help you maintain this framework long-term? Who or what resources could help keep you accountable?
REMEMBER:
This framework isn't about perfectionâit's about progress. Just like the mycelium network beneath a forest floor, your energy management system grows stronger over time as connections deepen. You don't need to excel in every component of WEAL right away. Start by strengthening one area while being gentle with yourself about the others.
The beauty of this framework is that it's designed to help you make improvements without getting stuck in the permanent personal growth hamster wheel. Each small insight or adjustment creates another thread in your network, gradually building a system that supports you as you live yoru everyday life.
Trust the process, celebrate your awareness, and keep nurturing those connections.
In my previous life doing hand-lettering, I started a personal project series called Silhouettes in 2014. It led to jobs with Harper Collins and magazine spreads, and inquiries from Disney and major news networks. Just as things were taking off, my capral tunnel ended my ability to letter in 2016.
Imagine my surprise when I started getting emails from an art teacher in the Netherlands who uses this series to explore creativity with their class every year. They asked if the students could submit questions to me and get answers about my time making the work. I said, "of course" and they asked me questions like:
"Why choose to use other peoples images?"
"Why are the people in the images you chose expressionless?"
"What decisions did you make when choosing the quotes?"
"What do you think the hand-lettering added to the images?"
"Who were you trying to communicate with?"
"Why use white font when the image in black and white?"
"Why choose to have the text confined by the silhouette of the person"
I also got email updates from the teacher like:
"...the student[s] have been discussing the decisions an artist makes and the impact on the viewer. So for your work we have been talking about the font as a type of mask, the hand-written font as a personal message to the viewer/or the person in the image."
"They always love your images and come up with some beautiful insights about self esteem, social media and judgements when considering the silhouette series."
"Itâs another year later and we are doing the project again and it still resonates with the student as much as ever!"
Getting these updates over the years keeps that version of the artist in me alive now that my physical capacity to create in that way is minimal to non-existent.
My art may never end up in a gallery or be sold again.
I don't expect I'll ever be able to letter the way I used to.
But through a small group of students in the Netherlands (and in the depths of pinterest), the artâthat got me through a divorce, saw me through rebuilding a new life in an unknown place, and set off a 10-year journey inwardâstill lives on.
(And I definitely cry every time I get an email or I think about it.)
It's a good reminder that we may never know the people we touch with our words, work, or art, but that does not mean that it is not out there doing what art does.
WHAT I'M LOVING:
- I am OBSESSED with watching Ranti's process of knitting her wedding dress in THREE MONTHS đ¤Ż. I don't wait with bated breath for much content these days but this... this I do. This is the first video and from a little over a month ago and she has 3 updates out so far and a little less than 2 months to go!
- The excitement of picking out new glasses. It's been 5 years since I picked out new frames som I'm looking forward to what fun shapes and colors are out there. We'll see if Claude ends up being right about ideal styles for my vibe đ
- Me soaking up the last of the cool weather before mother nature sets the external thermostat to "wet death."
CHOOSE YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!
As I mentioned above, next week I'll be launching a fresh approach to this newsletter for the coming season! I want The Purposeful Pause to be exactly what you need, so I'd love your vote on which theme resonates most with you.
For the spring/summer, we'll be shifting to more digestible bites of teachings, tips, and tactics to help your with your weekly implementation. We'll still be exploring energy management, productivity, and burnout through the below lenses!
To vote, simply click the button below for the option that would help you the most:
OPTION 1: Systems, Stories, and Self-Trust
Build personalized systems while developing the confidence to trust your own judgment through practical frameworks paired with real-life examples that show how they work in action.
OPTION 2: Rhythms, Resilience, and Reinvention
Cultivate sustainable success that honors your unique patterns and redefines achievement on your own terms by working with your natural cycles while building the capacity to bounce back from challenges.
OPTION 3: Friction, Flow, and Freedom
Navigate real-life challenges and design a life with genuine autonomy in both work and personal spheres by identifying and removing obstacles that drain your energy while creating paths of least resistance.
HAVING A GREAT TIME HERE?
Here's a few ways you can let me know:
- Option 1: đ Share with a fellow creative or business owner. Community starts with each of us and friends don't let friends chase their dreams at the expense of their mental health! If you know someone seeking more sustainability and harmony in their life and/or business, send this their way.
- Option 2: đ Say hi! Hit reply and share a sentence or two about anything you enjoyed or hit home for you. I always hope these words find the right people at the right time, but it's always makes my day to hear from you!
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