the diary of an empath

View Original

Lessons from tax week (choosing the right energy)

This past week was tax week at the diary of an empath.

Typically I try to be a bit more ahead of the game, but the last year I’ve fallen behind on a lot of things, including my own bookkeeping and needed to spend extra time this week organizing expenses, tracking down documents, and updating my spreadsheets.

And while this week had the potential to be stressful and filled with shame (for how much I didn’t do, needed to do, needed to pay, didn’t make, etc.), I chose instead for it to be easy.

A few things that helped:

Making a to do list

On Sunday night I sat down at my desk and made a list of all the tasks I needed to do to submit my taxes. Having everything laid out in front of me made the big task of ‘taxes’ feel more manageable. (And manageable feels really good to the nervous system.) Having a master list of tasks also made it easier to get started each morning because my energy had focus.

Focusing on what I enjoyed about the process

Last year wasn’t the most successful for me financially. I had a lot going on + Saturn was teaching me how to value my creativity and expression. Instead of using tax season to wallow about ‘how much I had failed to reach my goals’ or ‘how boring collecting receipts was’, I focused on what I did enjoy about the process. I love organizing and how cozy my desk feels to work at, so I focused on the joy of those things, being grateful for the opportunity to have a week to get things in order and feel more on top of my business.

Seeing each task as a step towards the life I’m choosing to build

As I checked tax tasks off my to do list, I was saying yes to an organized business. Yes to an organized business was saying yes to myself as a business owner. Yes to myself as a business owner was saying yes to the lifestyle of creativity, expression and time freedom that lights me up. I don't have to say yes - we always have the choice whether to lean into our dreams or not. Remembering this was motivation to stay empowered + keep my momentum up!

All in all, not only was this week easy, it was enjoyable! And here on the other side of it, I’m feeling really proud of what I was able to accomplish.

X


Robin

Notify me of new posts by email

See this content in the original post

If you’re new to my work:

Hi! I'm Robin —

The diarist behind The Diary of an Empath and creator of Empaths in Business, teaching empaths how to turn their work into a business that works, with strategy, healing and support.

See this gallery in the original post