What would it look like to drop the armor you’ve been using to defend yourself? What are you protecting yourself from? I believe we want to shield our soul’s desires because we don’t want to risk injuring them. The crazy thing is that when we keep them locked up in a tower with the draw bridge lifted, we block out fulfillment, accomplishment, and joy.

From playing a sport to working a job, the phrase “trying hard” implies that we’re attempting to perform at our very best, pushing ourselves harder to go beyond our limits. Why? I believe it’s because we want to be successful on our own terms.

Plugging into our bodies’ way of communicating is like using a decision-making power tool. It quickly drills to the core. Whether we’re struggling to make tiny, seemingly inconsequential choices or gigantic, clearly life-changing decisions, our bodies know the answer first.

The environment we build for ourselves—both externally and internally—influences how we show up and engage in our lives. Look around you. As you take in your surroundings, how do you feel? That feeling will follow you into whatever you’re doing next.

Summer feels like it races by at twice the speed compared to the other seasons. We fill the long summer days with as much fun as possible while trying not to fall behind on our workload, but this can leave us feeling pressed for time and exhausted. How do we revive ourselves so we can enjoy our fun and still bring our best selves to work?

Bring to mind your last off-the-grid, disconnected-style vacation. If you can’t think of one, you’re not alone. Even though we know (somewhere deep down!) that taking a complete break from work will increase our work productivity, we often resist.

In school, we’re always told never to copy a fellow student’s work. That’s cheating! It’s a forbidden, punishable, no-no. But as you move through life, you may find that there are times when imitation can be a valuable technique, especially when you’re in the process of learning a new skill. However, you’ll soon find that to reach the next level of success, you must move from emulation to developing your own expertise. 

Are you feeling the urge to revive your spirt so you can thrive in the coming year? I sure am.

I’m guessing that you’re a person who dares to step outside your comfort zone, to challenge yourself, to expand what’s possible for you — personally and professionally.

When you’re exhausted — not “if” but “when” — and you want to get more work done, there’s a moment when you have a chance to decide whether to give yourself a break or not.