The Energy Audit That Changed Everything

Six weeks ago, I started with one honest question:

Does this still fit?

Since then, I've named a season, let go of what I've been carrying, reclaimed my spaces, and asked myself, along with others, who we're becoming.

This week, I had planned to celebrate a completely different milestone.

Instead, life had other plans.

I didn't expect to spend this past week in a hospital bed.

But there I was—post-surgery, hooked up to IV fluids, staring at the ceiling of a trauma center I never imagined I'd be in.

And strangely enough...

I found myself thinking about energy.

Not the kind that comes from a good night's sleep, although I certainly needed that.

The deeper kind.

The kind that has everything to do with how we're actually living.

One of the exercises in The Right-Sized Life is something I call an Energy Audit—three simple questions I believe every woman should ask herself regularly:

• What drains me?

• What energizes me?

• What did I do today for my future self?

I've answered those questions many times over the years.

But I've never answered them quite like I did lying in that hospital bed.

Pain drains me.

Fear drains me.

Ignoring my body's quiet whispers until they become loud enough that I can't.

What energized me surprised me.

Stillness.

Gratitude.

The text messages from friends.

My husband's face when he walked into my room.

The first morning home in my own bed.

Being cared for instead of always being the one caring for everyone else.

And when I asked myself what I had done for my future self...

The answer was simple.

I finally listened.

I listened when my body told me something wasn't right.

I went to the emergency room.

I accepted help.

I trusted the process.

And those small decisions changed everything.

Amy is the Podcaster on Fearlessly Facing Fifty. You can find her Podcast HERE