Follow the Energy
My resolution to craft a life based on intuition, not someone else's rules
My son recently said three words that dramatically changed the way I view self improvement and a happy, healthy life: follow the energy.
He was lucky enough to have a manager who said those words to him. She helped him identify his talents and interests, but more importantly, how to fine-tune his intuition radar. By encouraging him to pay attention to times when he had more joy and productivity with less effort, she taught him the valuable life skill of improved self-awareness.
Better self-awareness leads to better decisions about how we live our lives but it takes practice and patience to develop. Looking back on past resolutions and attempts at self-improvement, I usually left the self out of the equation.
New year’s resolutions were based on external goals like losing weight or making more money. Not that those are bad things to pursue but focusing on external goals using other people’s ideas about how to achieve them kept me from making decisions based on my intuition or even knowing how to do that.
I now realize it’s about being connected to your own energy. Whether it goes up or down, energy is your soul trying to have a conversation with your brain. It’s a good idea to listen.
So rather than starting another year feeling like there’s something about me that needs to be fixed and looking outside of myself for the answers, I’m going to follow the energy and see where it takes me.
No instructions, steps, or rules to follow. No clubs to join or memberships to purchase. Simply pay attention to my energy and let my intuition inform my decisions, including how I spend my time.
It started last November with a writing contest. The NYC Midnight 250-Word Microfiction Challenge to be exact. A friend forwarded an email about the contest and on a whim, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I’ve been a corporate copywriter for years and dabble in creative writing but rarely finish projects due to the paralysis of overthinking.
The structure and deadline of this contest didn’t leave room for overthinking. You’re assigned a genre, an action, and a word that must be used in your 250-word story and only 24 hours to write it. My internal critic who edits as I write didn’t have the luxury of participating until I had a solid first draft.
My energy was focused on creating and not critiquing and the result was freeing and so much fun. I was able to put all pieces of the puzzle together in a way that only I could do. By the time I submitted it, my story was what I wanted it to be and it was the best feeling in the world.
When I told my son about the contest and how it lit this creative fire in me, he shared the advice to follow the energy. It sounded so simple and in truth, it is. I’m not sure why we put up so many barriers up that prevent us from going after what we really want. Fear? Lack of confidence? Circumstances? Laziness?
I’m sure they all play a part but I’m getting too old to muck around with my life by going down the rabbit hole of someone else’s answers. I want more of the feeling I had when I was writing that story. Following my energy is empowering and reminds me that when it comes to my life, I get to decide.
I now use my new mantra in areas other than writing, too. No more diets prescribing what I can eat, what I can’t, and how often. I grew up with the commandment that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now, I don’t eat unless I’m hungry. Crazy.
My finances are in better shape because I pay attention to my energy before I buy something. Do I really want or need this? Will it add value to my life or be forgotten in a week? Part Minimalism and part Marie Kondo I suppose, but only having the stuff around me that is useful and “sparks joy” saves me money and creates even more positive energy.
Other people can inspire and motivate us but our best lives can’t be found on the pages of a self-help book, a magazine article, or a celebrity’s social media feed. By following our energy, we get a better understanding of what makes us happy and only then can we start crafting a life that supports it.
So this year, rather than chasing after change based on someone’s else’s rulebook, I challenge you to follow your energy and see where it takes you.
About the Creator
Julie Thompson
Left corporate copywriting in the rearview to enjoy life without a commute. Finally writing a screenplay and musing about this new chapter on my blog, Born a Homebody.
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How I earn $100 in a day
There was a time when earning $100 in a single day felt like a fantasy to me. Not a goal — a fantasy. I remember staring at my phone late at night, doing small mental calculations: If I earn $5 today and $10 tomorrow, maybe by the end of the month… Even those numbers weren’t guaranteed. Some days, nothing came in at all. And that silence — the absence of notifications, emails, or messages — was louder than failure. People online love to talk about success like it’s loud and shiny. For me, it was quiet. Heavy. Full of doubt. The day I earned $100 didn’t begin with excitement. It began like every other day: tired eyes, a slow morning, and a question I kept asking myself — Is this even worth it? What kept me going wasn’t motivation. It was necessity. I didn’t suddenly become smarter or more talented. I didn’t discover a secret website or a hidden trick. I simply stopped waiting for the “perfect” moment and started using what I already had. I offered small digital work. Simple things. Work that wouldn’t impress anyone on social media — but work that people genuinely needed. And I did it sincerely. That day, the first payment came in early. It wasn’t big. Just enough to remind me that someone trusted me with their money. That feeling mattered more than the amount. Later, while I was offline, something unexpected happened. A digital product I had created earlier — something I almost didn’t upload because I thought it wasn’t good enough — sold. Then it sold again. I stared at the screen for a few seconds, unsure whether to smile or stay calm. By evening, another small task came my way. Then one more. None of these moments felt dramatic. No fireworks. No victory music. Just quiet confirmations that effort, even imperfect effort, still counts. When I finally added everything together late at night, my heart paused. It crossed $100. I didn’t jump. I didn’t celebrate. I just sat there — still — because for the first time, the number felt real. What hit me hardest wasn’t the money. It was the realization that I had been underestimating myself for a long time. I believed earning like this was reserved for “others” — more confident people, more skilled people, luckier people. That belief was wrong. Earning $100 in a day didn’t change my life instantly. But it changed something inside me. It replaced doubt with proof. And proof is powerful. Now I understand something important: money doesn’t always come from doing big things. Sometimes it comes from doing small things consistently and with sincerity. Some days I still don’t reach $100. Some days are quiet again. But the fear is gone. Because once you know something is possible, it stops being a dream and starts being a process. I no longer wait for motivation. I work, even when I feel unsure. I trust that effort never disappears — it just takes time to show itself. If you’re reading this while feeling stuck, tired, or invisible, I want you to know something honestly: You’re not behind. You’re just early in your story. And one ordinary day — without warning — things can start to add up.
By Shah Fayaz 3 days ago in Motivation
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