Feeling you have reached a plateau in treatment? Or that your pain is not improving? Or perhaps you are feeling drained of energy?
What if you could change that? How would that improve your life?
Sometimes we are so busy with life, that we don’t have the time to stop and think about all the things actually going on and how that may be impacting our energy levels. This is an exercise about awareness. It is only when we become aware, that we are able to make changes. Awareness allows for acceptance of what is, at this present moment. From there the possibilities are endless.
To make positive changes to improve our lives, we need to give ourselves some time.
So, I have a mission for you, if you choose to accept it.
1. Dedicate some quiet time
2. Use the image/exercise/instructions provided
3. When completed ask yourself “What is the next best step for me?”
How the Energy Bucket works:
1. The bucket represents your daily energy.
2. The holes at the bottom are the things in your life that drain your energy. They are not necessarily bad things. They are just aspects of your life that require your attention, focus and energy. We all have things in our lives that demand attention & energy…we are just simply identifying those things.
3. The bubbles inside the bucket are the things that give us energy…boosts us…makes us feel good, recharges the batteries.
4. Once complete, then ask yourself are there any holes I can change (meaning anything I can change that drains my energy?) You may not be able to remove the hole but you may be able to reduce how much energy you lose.
5. If you can’t change the holes, what things could you do more of that boosts the amount energy in your bucket & therefore leaves you less drained at the end of the day.
This is an individual exercise…each person is different…there are no wrong answers.
Once you have thought about your bucket and what possible changes you could make, finish with
“What is the next best step for me to take?” Change is a process. Identifying for yourself what the next step is helps you to take small steps towards change versus a change over night that could be more stressful than relieving.
By: Madelaine Golec PT
Adapted from a course with Dr. Bronnie Thompson.