Where It Flows, It Grows: The Energy Audit

Over the past few weeks, we've explored how wellness is multidimensional and deeply personal. While we initially planned to dive into one dimension at a time, I realized that in real life, these dimensions don’t exist in isolation. They constantly intersect in the ways we live, move, think, and care. So going forward, we’ll continue exploring the wellness dimensions, just through more practical, integrated themes.

This week’s theme, “Where It Flows, It Grows,” invites us to look at where our energy flows each day and how that shapes our well-being across all areas.

The Spiral, the Shift, and the Choice

Have you ever been caught in a negativity spiral? In my experience, it’s like being pulled into a riptide; it can be hard to break free. But I’ve learned that the way out often begins on a microscopic level. One decision. One shift. One conscious redirection of energy.

There’s a lot in life that we can’t control, which makes it even more powerful to own the parts we can. Each of us has the ability to choose where we focus our energy. When we become more aware and intentional, when we show up mindfully and with purpose, we take back the reins. That’s how we move through challenges without losing ourselves in them. We can acknowledge when things suck without pouring every ounce of our energy into the hardship. That choice matters.

The Energy of Being Alive

We are energetic beings. Constantly converting and exchanging energy, whether we're sleeping, walking, eating, or scrolling. If energy isn’t flowing, we’re not alive.

That means even when we’re not aware of it, our energy is still going somewhere. So the question becomes: Are you choosing where it flows? And when it’s flowing somewhere that drains you, are you gently redirecting it?

This isn’t about perfectly managing every moment. It’s about tuning in, observing your own patterns, and making conscious choices that support your whole self.

Why Energy Awareness Matters (Physiological & Psychological Insights)

Diagram of factors influencing energy level

Many factors influence your daily energy:

• Nutrition, hydration, sleep, and physical activity

• Mental load, emotional processing, and sensory input

• Environmental stressors, internal narratives, and social interactions

  
  

Every decision, emotion, and stimulus uses energy. Just like with finances, how you spend, save, or invest that energy shapes your overall “balance.”

Psychology and neuroscience confirm that energy is a finite resource. You’ve probably felt this in moments like:

• Being too mentally fried to decide what to eat

• Feeling exhausted after a big emotional conversation

• Snapping at a sound or person after a long day

  
  

This is your mental and emotional bandwidth in action. And in our modern world, it’s easy to use it all up before lunch if we’re not mindful.

Decision fatigue occurs when we make too many choices in a short time. Information overload occurs when we take in more data than we can process. Both drain our nervous system, which already has its own energy dance happening beneath the surface.

Your autonomic nervous system switches between:

• Sympathetic mode (fight/flight/freeze – energy-consuming)

• Parasympathetic mode (rest/digest – energy-replenishing)

These states are natural. But in chronic stress, we get stuck in sympathetic overdrive. The result?

• Energy depletion

• Emotional reactivity

• Increased inflammation

• Disconnection from clarity, creativity, and calm

Becoming aware of this flow allows you to take your power back, not through force, but through awareness and small shifts.

How to Conduct Your Own Energy Audit

Here’s a simple way to begin redirecting your flow:

Step 1: Observe Without Judgment

Spend 1–3 days noticing:

• What activities you do

• Who you interact with

• What thoughts dominate your mind

• When you feel drained or energized

You’re just gathering data, investigating, and observing, not looking to fit anything.

Step 2: Sort Into Drains vs. Gains

Create two columns:

• Energy Drains: What leaves you feeling depleted, overwhelmed, tense?

• Energy Gains: What leaves you feeling lighter, inspired, grounded?

Patterns will emerge.

Step 3: Map It to the Dimensions of Wellness

Think about your emotional, physical, intellectual, spiritual, and social energy. Where are you overflowing? Where are you undernourished?

Example:

• Doomscrolling might drain your intellectual and emotional energy.

• An evening walk might boost your physical, emotional, and spiritual energy all at once.

Step 4: Identify One Gentle Shift

Where can you:

• Cut back even slightly on a drain?

• Add in something that replenishes you?

• Bring more intentionality to something you already do?

Start small. Subtle redirections are powerful over time.

Energy as a Compass: Final Thoughts

Your energy is one of the most valuable tools you have. It reflects what matters to you and shapes how you show up in every moment.

When you begin tuning into your energy flow, you reclaim the ability to direct your life. Not perfectly. Not rigidly. But consciously.

This isn’t about fixing something; it’s about connecting to yourself. It’s about learning what nourishes you and letting that guide the way.

And just like energy, how we relate to time plays a major role in shaping our well-being.

🌱 Looking Ahead

Next week, we’ll explore how time is a wellness tool, not just in how we manage it, but in how we experience it. We’ll also look at the deep connection between energy and time, and how aligning the two can help us create more sustainable, nourishing rhythms in everyday life. When we shift our relationship with time, we open the door to more ease, presence, and intentional living.

Sources:

Berg, S. (2025, March 21). What doctors wish patients knew about decision fatigue. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-decision-fatigue

Misha. (2023, November 20). The remarkable connection between the change in our mood and Brain Chemistry. North London Collegiate School. https://www.nlcs.org.uk/news/nlcs-thinking/the-remarkable-connection-between-the-change-in-our-mood-and-brain-chemistry-2/#:~:text=Our%20emotions%20are%20a%20series,dopamine%2C%20endorphins%2C%20and%20oxytocin.