I had planned to announce a new offer this week for a 28-day Energy Discovery Challenge that gives creators and entrepreneurs a personalized roadmap to discover their unique energy patterns, build the foundations for sustainable systems, and break free from burnout cycles through guided energy tracking, daily prompts + activities, and a supportive community of like-minded individuals.
And despite all my best laid plans, I realized over the holiday that I would have had to break boundaries with myself to hit that deadline.
It would be easy to look at this as a failure and reason to be discouraged. And 3-4 years ago, I would have done just that. Never mentioning it to anyone, ghosting from everything for 3-6 months, and spiraling until I could gather the energy to muscle past the critical voice in my head. It's also likely that I would have ignored my body's signals rushing up until the very last day and when it wasn't ready, still felt like trash at the end of it.
This time, I was able to admit that things were not going to plan and that I needed to adjustâwithout judgment, blame, or shame. After I came up with a new timeline, that worked within the constraints I had and needs to be met, I was able to reflect on the why and take lessons learned into future decision-making and product creation.
Did that critical voice go away?
No, but the volume was at a 3 instead of 29.
Am I free from any negative feelings?
Absolutely not, but I was able to meet them and be there for the parts of me who were/are disappointed.
Did I wallow in overwhelm a little while I got out of my own way?
yAAAAAAAhhhh lol then I was able to regulate and move forward.
Whether you're recovering from burnout, perfectionism, people pleasing, overworking, or any other myriad of toxic productivity related -isms and -ings, it's easy to romantisize reaching a magical place where those feelings never happen again. That you'll get to a point where it all works out every time.
But as soon as we give up that idea...
And instead focus on small shifts in the moment, the change we had hoped for arrives so much faster and easier.
Not to be confused with fast or easy.
More like the difference between swimming laps in a lap pool vs. swimming against the tide in a coursing river. (my brain couldn't help itself đ)
While I won't be launching it next week, I am really excited to be sharing more of the behind the scenes over on IG stories as I finish it up to go live next month!
Your Inner Interpreter
Do you ever get a gut feeling that something is off before you know what it is?
While I know this happens for me when it comes to other people and the external world, today I'm specifically talking about within yourselfâlike a vague sense a migraine is coming on before it fully hits or even feeling sluggish before the need for a nap fully registers.
It can also look like hunger pangs, when your bladder is full, or feeling your heart race. It's a call from the body to the mind that something's off and it's looking for balance.
It's not just random intuition, gut feeling, or a sixth sense...
It actually has a name: interoception.
And it can be loosely defined as the perception of internal signals from the body. [1]
Research shows that we have a complex system that processes every signal your body sends, making sense of them long before our conscious mind catches up. [2]
Think of it like having an internal translator that's constantly working to understand what your body needs.
When you push through fatigue, ignore discomfort, or hold it until it physically pains you to get through a conference call before you go to the bathroom... you're overriding these signals.
Would you tell someone to ignore the GPS and then blame them for getting lost?
I know I wouldn't, but that's exactly what hustle culture is telling you and then making you feel like it's your fault when burnout hits.
They say things like:
"Push harder, but if you burn out you clearly don't want it enough."
"Be available 24/7, but if you can't maintain boundaries that's on you."
"Scale bigger, faster, harder â but if your mental health suffers, you're just not cut out for success."
Sound familiar?
These aren't just toxic expectations. But impossible contradictions designed to keep you stuck in cycles of pushing yourself past your limits, then blaming yourself when your body finally says "enough."
Through all of this, your inner interpreter is working to help you navigate life as you experience it in your body.
When I talk about understanding your unique energy pattern and working with your natural rhythms, it's to encourage you to learn to work with the systems that already exist within you. To unlearn all the ways you were taught to fight against yourself and ignore your needs for someone else's benefit.
To stop fighting your natural rhythms and start flowing with them.
And this isn't just some feel-good theory.
(Though it does help you feel better, lol)
Studies show that people who better understand their body's signals make more effective decisions, manage their energy better, and experience less burnout. [3]
Your interpreter isn't trying to limit you â it's trying to help you exist sustainably.
The challenge?
Most of us were never taught how to listen to, let alone understand, what our interpreter is trying to tell us. We're fluent in external productivity rules but beginners at understanding our internal language.
So how does this connect to the other stuff we've worked on?
Last week, we created space for gentle reflection without the pressure of traditional year-end reviews. Those insights aren't just memories to file away â they're valuable clues about your unique energy patterns.
The challenges you faced, systems that supported you, and boundaries that served you well all tell a story about how your energy flows and where you did good at listening to your inner interpreter and where your body is asking for more attention.
Rather than pushing these lessons aside in pursuit of new goals, we can use them as a map for building more sustainable systems.
Think of last year's experiences as breadcrumbs leading you toward better self-understanding. Every task that drained you, every environment that energized you, and every boundary that protected you offers insight into the messages your body is sending.
Let's explore how to transform your signals into needs you can clearly define and meet in this week's...
Try This:
The Body Signal Translator
This week, we want to give a little extra love to our bodies and the messages they are trying to send to us before things get hairy. Maybe it's that afternoon headache that shows up when you've been staring at your screen too long, or that mysterious stomach ache before a big meeting. Your body is constantly sending you signals - we just have to learn its language.
