Is Empathy Good?
While it’s important to have empathy for your fellow human being, if you’re overly sensitive, it can also be a detriment to you because you either give your energy away or you take on the energy of other people, sometimes without your knowledge. To avoid this energy drain, you need to be more careful about and aware of your energy—where your energy begins and ends and where the energy of people around you begins and ends.
Creating Energy Awareness
The first step, to avoid taking on energy that does not belong to you, is to become more aware of your own energy. A simple way to become more aware is to check in with your physical and emotional state on a regular basis throughout your day.
Morning Baseline Assessment
The most important check in of the day is when you first wake up in the morning. Before you get out of bed, do a quick assessment of yourself.
Physical Evaluation
Start by evaluating your physical status. Starting at your toes, slowly move up your body until you arrive at the crown of your head. Pause at any part of your body that needs attention.
- Does your back feel achy?
- Is your neck sore?
- Is your stomach hungry?
- Are your sinuses congested?
- Do your wrists hurt?
Emotional Evaluation
After you have assessed your physical state, ask yourself how you feel.
- Are you tired? Do you feel you enjoyed a good night’s rest?
- Are you anxious to get out of bed? Did you hit the snooze button on your alarm?
- Are you resentful? Do you feel gratitude for your life?
- Are you angry? Are you joyful? Are you happy? Are you sad?
- Do you feel energized? Are you lethargic?
Document Results
Once you’ve completed both your physical and emotional evaluations, you have your baseline for your day. You may want to make a few notes regarding your assessment, so you don’t have to remember the details as you proceed into your day.
Daily Assessments
Evaluate your physical and emotional state throughout the day at convenient intervals. A suggested schedule would be:
- 9 am
- 3 pm
- 9 pm (or before you go to bed)
Comparative Analysis
With each assessment, compare the results against your baseline. Have there been any changes? Jot down a few notes to help you remember your assessment. If you find that your physical or emotional state has changed dramatically from your baseline, and the change is below your baseline (e.g., not as happy, more stressed, muscular soreness has devolved to pain, etc.) you may want to take some corrective action to move yourself back within alignment with your baseline. (Obviously, if your check-in nets a more favorable result than your baseline, you probably want to embrace that as your new baseline instead of taking corrective action.)
Take Corrective Action
Physical Adjustments
Many times physical imbalances can be cured by movement. If you want to just stretch and adjust the misaligned body part, that’s a good place to start. However, to most affectively address why your physical well-being has deteriorated from your morning baseline, ask that body part what it needs to feel better. I know it sounds odd, but it surprisingly works. For example, you might want to (silently) ask, “Neck, you are sore and I feel my range of motion has deteriorated from this morning. How can I help you to feel better?” Follow the guidance you receive. Be open to receiving the guidance in any way it comes to you (e.g., claircognizance, clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience).
Emotional Adjustments
Once you start monitoring your emotional state, you might be surprised at the frequency with which your personal emotional state is influenced and impacted by external sources. Before you can take corrective action, it is helpful to delve into the issue further. Consciously think about the individual emotions you are experiencing.
Then ask yourself,
- “Does this emotion belong to me?
- Is this my energy?”
- If the answer is “no” (to either question), let it go.
A shortcut is to state 3 times with feeling,
- “I release all energy that does not belong to me.”
You may be surprised to find that you picked up the energetic unease of a co-worker in a stressful situation or your boss’ frustration or another driver’s anger.
You may also find your emotions boosted by sharing in the joy of your friend’s engagement or receiving an accolade from a client or watching your child articulate the winning word at his spelling bee.
Empathy Impact
It is REALLY easy to be influenced by outside sources. I recommend that whether you receive a morale boost or your mood is depressed, that you evaluate the source of the change from your emotional baseline. Identifying the source can help you to become stronger and more confident. If you find yourself constantly gliding off course based upon the emotions of the people around you, you may want to consider finding a healthier environment for yourself.
