Have you ever had a time where you felt like everything around you was falling apart? Relationships change, people and pets get sick and pass on, jobs end, financial stress, accidents happen … and sometimes it happens all at once. It can feel overwhelming, and you may struggle to handle it all and make good decisions.

We also continue to experience some heavy and intense energy shifts in our world … and they will not be ending any time soon. These energy shifts as our Earth and Universe evolve impact all areas of our life and can create even more challenges during difficult times.

So what can you do to have a strong reservoir of energy and wellness so that you can handle those times when it feels like everything is falling apart?

Here’s what I have learned in 2019

If you are stressed, tired, depleted, over-worked, depressed, and sick, how will you ever have the energy and stamina to stand strong during a storm? The honest answer is that you won’t. Been there, done that. It’s why so many of us get physically sick after a stressful or traumatic time ends. We persevere on caffeine and will power and when the situation ends, we collapse.

What will fill your energy reservoir during good times and keep you strong during difficult times is a consistent daily practice of self-care and soul-care. Self-care was the theme of 2019 for SO many people. I love to read what other people do and teach, but I felt that so many of the recommendations were superficial. We live in a world where mani-pedis and a hot bath will not fill your reservoir with energy to keep you strong. It may feel good, but it’s superficial and not enough.

So I spent all of 2019 diving deep into self-care and ended the year with a realization that soul-care must be a part of self-care. I researched everything I could find about self-care; I engaged in a wide variety of daily techniques to see what works and what is fluff; and I learned that self-care must include soul-care.

Turn Self-Care into Soul-Care

Soul-care re-centers you to a divine connection and de-centers you from your ego running your life ragged and often in the wrong direction. Soul-care is about filling your heart with a greater purpose, giving yourself the space to connect to Source and your Higher Self to discover and pursue that purpose, and listening to your heart and your inner voice about what is right for you.

I am now putting all that I learned into practice as I handle some difficult situations that began in early November.  It’s really helping me because all year I have filled my energy reservoir so that I can now draw on it without depleting myself in the process.

So what does self-care with soul-care look like? Here a few highlights that are my daily practice:

• Eat real food (nothing from a bag, box or drive-thru window) and drink water (lots of it). If you eat junk, your body will feel like junk. And when your body is not energized you will feel it during difficult times.
• Give yourself permission for 5-10 minutes of quiet time every day. When you can rest your mind, you will receive insights and guidance. It will help realign you on the right life path so that you are not paddling up-stream doing the same things that exhaust you.
• Read or learn something about personal development so that you keep growing into your best self. Personal development will strengthen your mind and character to hold you strong when things are falling apart. There are so many great authors like John Maxwell, Rachel Hollis, and Marie Forleo. Find one you resonate with and let them grow you and lift you up.
• Do things that bring you joy and it will transform busyness and stress. Let go of things that do not bring you joy; and the things you cannot let go of, find something joyful about them. Dread, regret, misery and boredom drain your energy; joy will fill it.
• It’s okay to say no. Change FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). If it doesn’t bring you joy, don’t do it. Leave the committee that drains you, don’t give your time to friends who don’t support you, and let go of obligation and “I have to’s”.
• Fear is a major drain on us that can take over during difficult times. Fear is just an illusion so step over it (and give it a kick) because fear crops up when you’re on the verge of major positive growth. Fear and anxiety feel the same. And anxiety and excitement create the same reaction in your brain. So the next time you feel fear or anxiety, just say “I wonder what I’m excited about?”
• Use essential oils to work on the limbic region of your brain if you need to work on core beliefs, a more positive mindset, and to break thru excuses so you can grow to the next level. When you have goals but your mindset is working against you, that is an energy drain that will build up over time. One of my favorites is Transformation oil.
• Do something fun every day (or at least once a week) that gives you the freedom to laugh, smile, and let go. Adulting and all of its responsibilities can suck the energy right out of you; but a fun practice will put the energy back in.
• Have a morning ritual. When you can start your day with a morning routine focused on you and your day (not on your phone, computer or TV), your day will go better and you will handle challenges much better. Mine changes but currently involves:
  • Drinking water (and Young Living Ningxia Red) upon waking
  • Inspiration reading
  • Gratitude
  • Affirmations
  • Ask how I can serve and then listen
  • Work on my two most important tasks first
  • Use my essential oils

If you are ready for 2020 and the next decade to not be a repeat of the 2010 decade, check out my 12 Year of You self-care classes so that you can find what will work for you.

What I learned this year, and what I see in so many, is that if you are not engaging in self-care and soul-care everyday, and if you think that you don’t have time, then you are not living your life. Then when challenging times happen, you will feel like everything around you is falling apart. But if you engage in self-care and soul-care everyday, when things are falling apart at least one of those things will not be you.

❤️Allie

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