I have been building an all-star dream team. It started with my life coach, then I recruited my virtual assistant, my therapist, and the latest first-round draft pick, my financial coach. I’ve committed to one session per month with her for the year. During our first session, she guided me through a thorough review of all of my expenses and spending. She brought to my attention that there should have been a substantial overflow left after all of my general expenses were paid each month. As the session was coming to a close, she assigned my homework. I was to investigate where all of that additional money was going. My breakthrough occurred before we even got off of the phone. I discovered that my unconscious spending was directly connected to the work I was doing to make the money in the first place.
Excessive work and all of the things associated with it had led to burnout. In an attempt to push through it and keep going, I would spend mindlessly on the things that I felt I needed to survive while in burnout mode. I was too tired to cook or grocery shop, so I constantly ordered food from delivery services like Door Dash. I wasn’t getting enough rest, but still needed the energy to make it through the day, so I was buying costly coffee. As an empath, spending so much time in crowded airports and confined airplanes became emotionally overwhelming, so I spent money on upgrades to find a little more comfort and joy during travel. These behaviors and others like them made me realize that burnout was costing me substantially. As a result, I put a few practices in place that I hope will help you too.
Deliberate Subtraction. I came across this term while reading the book, Essentialism. It’s the idea that a good editor makes a story come to life by subtracting all of the unnecessary words from an author’s work.
Doing less will give you more. It will give you more energy, time, rest, and creativity which in turn will lead to more money. You will increase your profit and income, or you will keep all of the money that you unconsciously spend on food, alcohol, shopping and other mechanisms used to cope with burnout. Either way, you win.
What are the non-essential or unnecessary work activities or commitments that you can subtract from your schedule?
Delegation. There is someone else in your office, life, or in the world that is delighted by doing the things that feel like drudgery to you. You don’t have to do it all. Only do the things that only you can do. Delegate everything else.
Which tasks or commitments can you delegate to someone else?
Direct Deposit. Put something on autopilot that replenishes your mental and emotional bank account. I host a monthly recurring meet-up with a group of women whose company feels like sunshine. On the last Sunday of every month, we laugh, have girl talk, eat snacks and play with stickers as we map out the next month in our planners. This event is blocked off on all of our calendars for the year. What can you commit to that regularly gives you something back by sparking joy and delight in your life?
If we have to spend what we make just to survive to work another day, what’s the point? It’s time to shift. This week I challenge you to identify the ways in which burnout is costing you. Use one of the methods mentioned above to take the first step in the direction of reversing that which has been depleting you. Manifestation Affirmations I am keeping company with people who feel like sunshine. I am regularly replenishing my emotional bank account. I am deliberately subtracting the unnecessary and non-essential.
Master Your Mind + Master Your Body + Master Your Money = Manifest a Life You Love
Most Sincerely,
Monica Marie Jones Your Soul Journey Guide