I've started taking on more responsibility at work. And while it feels good to be recognized for my skill and earned knowledge, I find myself completely drained at the end of each work day.
I'm an empath and a natural leader. I feel my feminine and masculine energies doing their best to work together, trying to balance managing everyone's emotions with the work that needs to get done. It's exhausting.
I asked my friends, other women in tech, how they nurture their feminine energy while working in a masculine-heavy environment, i.e. any workplace operating within capitalism.
Here were some of their suggestions:
- If you disagree with a decision and have no official "data" to support your dissent, your gut-feeling is still valid and shouldn't be ignored. Try saying "I can't articulate why, but my gut instinct is telling me X and usually my intuition is right." Remember: Intuition is powerful!
- Establish a morning ritual that is not centered around "achieving" or other masculine things. Focus on nurturing yourself and tap into your emotions before starting the work day.
- Curate your space in a way honors "beauty" (whatever that may be for you) and makes you happy.
- Getting ready in the morning can be a way to honor your feminine energy. Try putting on jewelry, lipstick, or your favorite outfit. (I painted my nails last week for the first time in forever and it was really relaxing!)
- Buy yourself flowers
- At the beginning of a season, like Autumn, sit down and think about how you want that season to feel. Creative? Connected? Cozy? Then make plans for what will make you feel that way, like going for a walk in the Bosque when the leaves are changing, making apple cider donuts, and lighting a spicy-scented candle.
- Take a bath
- Get out into nature
A note from my brilliant friend Ananada:
I don't have many answers and I'm still trying to figure this out myself, but the world needs all the feminine energy it can get right now so we should all keep asking ourselves these questions.
Reflection Question
How can I nourish and honor my feminine energy this week?
Creative Resources
Free downloadable timeblock planners by Deborah Ho
Do you struggle to get centered and complete tasks throughout the day? These time-blocking sheets might help! The daily planner is my favorite. I found this resource on TikTok (yes, I've been spending a lot of time there, and yes, it is extremely entertaining).
Quote of the Week
The monetary motivations of capitalism can be a comfortable place to some because it is known. Capitalism is a well-established masculine monoculture of stoicism, competitiveness, dominance, and aggression that relies on dependencies and power structures. I lose my autonomy in it as a sensitive introvert. If I could exist in an undefined space instead, I could use the ambiguity to nourish my emotional needs and create soft definitions of what it means to be.
Courtney Cassidy , A Soft Manifesto