A Post-Anthropocentric Approach to Managing Stress, Pain, and Burnout Creatively with the Color Your Energy Approach
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- September 27, 2024
Recent studies have revealed the fascinating ways mushrooms communicate and connect through a complex network of mycelium, often referred to as the “Wood Wide Web.” This underground network allows mushrooms to exchange nutrients and information, demonstrating interdependence and adaptability in nature. Just as mushrooms dynamically adjust their interactions based on their environment, our approach to managing energy can benefit from a similar understanding of fluidity and connection. In this exploration, we delve into the **Color Your Energy** approach—a method that, like mycelium, adapts to the shifting landscapes of our daily lives and energy levels, offering a more nuanced and compassionate way to navigate chronic pain, burnout, and creative flow.
What is the “Color Your Energy” Approach?
Color Your Energy** envisions energy levels as a spectrum, much like the colors of a rainbow. This spectrum is divided into five distinct energy stages, providing a nuanced way to understand and manage your energy throughout the day. By responding to shifts in your energy with self-compassion, you can anchor yourself to work or rest as your energy allows.
On any given day, your energy might fluctuate; rather than adhering to a fixed number of “spoons,” which can feel restrictive, this approach allows for flexibility and flow. Your energy isn’t static—just like colors, it can blend, mix, and shift. On high-energy days, you might tackle demanding work tasks, while on others, when pain or fatigue sets in, you’ll lean into rest and self-care. Color Your Energy helps you transition from feelings of anger, frustration, blame, and shame associated with your low energy to embracing it with creativity and a post-anthropocene approach.
A Post-Anthropocentric Approach to Managing Stress
Color Your Energy offers a post-anthropocentric tool for navigating life with physical or mental limitations. This approach transcends human-centered views, recognizing the intrinsic value and agency of non-human entities, including animals, plants, ecosystems, and even mythological beings. It challenges human dominance and the logics of systems, particularly capitalism, which treats human bodies as machines for surplus production benefitting the elite.
As someone living with chronic pain, Color Your Energy approach has helped me regain control over my day. Instead of battling my body, I learned to collaborate with it. Chronic pain complicates planning—some days, the unpredictability of how I’ll feel is daunting. However, by adopting a flexible, color-coded approach, I could see energy fluctuations as a spectrum rather than stark depletion, and this enabled me in sustaining my life as an artist and independent academic over the years.
I still remember the day in 2012 when an Asian doctor at the University of Alberta’s health clinic labeled me “dysfunctional” and “incapable,” suggesting I leave my doctoral program to pursue something simpler in life. Instead of giving up, I sought out more supportive healthcare practitioners to help me manage chronic back pain and IBS. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was unknowingly developing my own way of coping with energy fluctuations caused by stress—an approach that eventually became the foundation for Color Your Energy. This method not only deepened my self-understanding but became a vital tool in my journey. Through this resilience, I earned my doctorate in 2019, served as faculty from 2019-20, and won awards as a singer-songwriter and acousmatic composer. What started as a strategy for survival has evolved into a transformative practice I now teach others to help them restore their vitality and balance.
This method worked well for me as it aligned with the ebb and flow of my self-employed artistic lifestyle, which often includes intense bursts of creativity followed by necessary downtime. It also aided in managing my anxiety. Rather than viewing a low-energy day as a failure, I recognized it as a natural shift within my energy spectrum. Understanding my energy within the five color stages allowed me to anchor my days around both work and rest.
For some, taking full days off for rest or dedicating days to work can be beneficial. However, for those experiencing chronic stress and burnout, even social time can feel draining. By recognizing these nuances in our energy levels and letting go of guilt about feeling drained, we can navigate our days more creatively. Simple chores can begin to feel like moments of downtime. In my course, Color Your Energy, included with the Vitality Planner, I guide participants through understanding and creatively managing their energy levels to optimize both work and rest.
At times, I would color my day in the morning, while other times, I’d color specific sections of the day to account for energy shifts. This approach transformed my goal-setting into powerful intentions about how to spend my time, whether tackling a creative project or simply giving myself permission to rest. Additionally, this method builds upon the seven types of rest recommended by Dr. Dalton-Smith, helping you choose the right type based on your current energy stage. In order to learn further about the five distinct energy stages, download the free ebook.
Take Charge of Your Energy—Register for the Masterclass!
Are you ready to transform how you manage your energy levels and navigate stress, pain, and burnout? With the Color Your Energy approach, you can unlock a new understanding of your daily energy shifts and respond to them with compassion and creativity.
Practical Steps Await You! In this masterclass and group coaching call, you’ll discover:
- Detailed Guidance on the Energy Spectrum: Learn to visualize your energy levels as a vibrant spectrum, allowing seamless transitions between work and rest.
- Daily Coloring Techniques: Explore practical exercises for “coloring” your day based on your unique energy stages, fostering powerful intentions for your time.
- Strategies for Incorporating Rest: Discover the seven types of rest and how to choose the right type for your current energy stage.
- Mindfulness Practices: Integrate mindfulness and self-compassion into your routine, empowering you to manage tasks without overwhelming yourself.
This 60-minute masterclass followed by a 60-minute group coaching call will serve as a roadmap to help you embrace the ebb and flow of your energy, transforming your relationship with work and rest. Whether navigating chronic pain, burnout, or seeking a more balanced lifestyle, our resources can guide you toward a fulfilling and empowered existence. Limited Spots Available. Send your expression of interest to: [email protected]
Embracing this spectrum allowed me to thrive despite my pain, instilling confidence in navigating my life. I learned that even on low-energy days, I was still honoring my needs and protecting my vitality. This balance respected my limits while allowing space for productivity, creativity, and growth.
I owe a debt to Christine Miserandino’s Spoon Theory for helping articulate my journey with chronic pain. Like Christine, I aim to assist others in understanding the invisible challenges accompanying chronic illness. Color Your Energy builds on her work, offering another perspective, especially for those struggling with physical limitations and the emotional toll of burnout. Ultimately, managing chronic pain or burnout isn’t about a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s about creating tools that resonate with your lived experience. Whether counting spoons or coloring your energy, the goal remains: to live a life where you honor your body, respect your limits, and continue to create and thrive.
To integrate these insights into daily life, I developed the Vitality Planner. This tool helps visualize and manage energy levels creatively and effectively. It includes the Color Your Energy course with guided practices and a supportive Facebook community of changemakers nurturing collective care. Register for the live masterclass with group coaching call to learn more about these tools that will transform your life and expand the world of possibility so that you will leave the era in your life where low energy made tasks or days seem impossible towards a new era of possibility where you become a magnanimous agent of social change. Moreover, it offers methods to track and balance energy tailored to your needs, incorporating a post-anthropocentric approach to well-being. I believe that by embracing a post-anthropocentric Color Your Energy approach, we can not only navigate the chronic stress and burnout caused by the uncertainties of living in a climate-transitioning world, but also empower our journey on Earth with deeper care, responsibility, and resilience.
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