Tuesday 30 August 2011

How Do You Avoid The Bite of The Energy Vampire?

By Anne Bellamy, Author of Using The Law of Attraction To Help The Universe Help You

 
Yesterday we decided to go blackberry picking (I know! We're obsessed) with some family.  On the way to the forest we were telling one of our relatives about our Open House visit the day before.

We told her about the house: how it was bigger, had more bedrooms and a bigger backyard.  Her reaction surprised us both:

"What on earth do you need with a bigger house?  The one you have now is perfectly fine for the two of you! You've got more than enough space."

Perfectly fine. She's right.  The house we have now is perfectly fine for the two of us.  That doesn't mean we can't want more.

Then later on, she asked what we were going to make with all the blackberries we picked.  Jam, we told her.

"Jam! Why jam!  You'll need loads of berries for jam. And if it doesn't turn out okay, you'll have wasted this whole afternoon."

Sheesh!  Seriously? She had an opinion on us making jam?

I was starting to bubble under the surface.  This energy vampire was sapping my strength!  What do you do when you encounter someone who rains on your parade?  I've had co-workers and even friends who were like this.  Gradually they faded away.  But this was a relative.  Bit trickier.

I needed a break from this. So, I found a quiet spot in the forest to pick berries by myself for a few minutes.  I paid attention to my emotions (frustration, resentment, a touch of anger) and attempted a pivot. 

Okay, I thought, I don't like these feelings, so what do I like?  Well, I like feeling free to make my own choices.  I like feeling respected.  So I thought about what that would look like.  I thought about it until I felt better, and then I rejoined the group.

Phew!  Much better.  And then I even managed to appreciate the opinions of this relative.  They gave me the opportunity to practice my pivoting.  The more I practice, the easier and faster it gets.

That's how I dealt with my energy vampire yesterday.  What do you do?

p.s. made the jam.....it's awesome!