Reciprocity is what makes this energy sustainable. It has to be a two-way street. Not you, pouring out, with nothing coming back.
In everyday life in the She Can’t Pour From Empty energy, you have to get clear. Clear on the boundaries. Clear on the agreements. Before you commit your willpower to something. Not after you’re exhausted and resentful. Before.
Ask yourself three things. What does this really require of me? What do I need in return? What does fair look like here?
Remember my semester? The one where I gave so many overrides, I ended up teaching an entire extra section? And didn’t get paid for it. One of Linda’s life lessons, for sure.
Before registration opened for the next semester, I met with my boss. To be honest, he wasn’t any more thrilled with what I’d done than I was. He was a friend. He hated seeing what I’d done to myself. All that work, no extra pay for it.
He pointed something out. If there was real demand for another section, he’d have added one. And paid me for it. And honestly? There wasn’t real demand. The other professors were teaching classes that were only half full.
So my boss and I made a plan. A real plan for handling overrides going forward. I had to toughen up a bit. I couldn’t say yes to every student who wanted in. But I learned the lesson. I needed to protect my energy. Protect my rest on nights and weekends. Or I’d be no good to my students. No good to my family either.
If this energy runs in you like it runs in me, here’s the thing. Alone time isn’t a reward you haven’t earned yet. It’s a commitment. The restoration you get from being rested is what makes the productivity possible. When you’re truly rested, what you give is better. Not just more. Better.
There’s a breadwinner quality to this energy. You can abundantly provide. That’s who you are. But regularly ask yourself this: Are the people you’re providing for in true partnership with you? Or has it shifted into something where what you give gets assumed, instead of valued?
Find your happy. Love what you do. Make a difference. Come back to me safely. See ya!
