Protecting your energy is key, especially for highly sensitive entrepreneurs 

If you’re a highly sensitive entrepreneur or even just a highly sensitive person, you know how important protecting your energy is to thriving in your personal and professional life.

If we (speaking especially to those sensitive energetic types) aren’t conscious of our own energy, as well as the energy of others around us, we can easily be influenced by others unknowingly.

What does it mean to protect your energy?

Protecting your energy means, in essence, that you are safeguarding or putting boundaries on what you allow yourself to be negatively impacted by. As humans, we’re all affected by the energy of one another and of the collective, especially when we’re in close relationships or close quarters.

But for highly sensitive people, you may feel even more vulnerable to not only absorbing the energy of others, but taking it on as the energy of yourself, and reacting from that place. That’s what we want to avoid.

We want to create conditions, so that even as highly sensitive individuals, we can still be aware of and observe the energy of others as the empathetic individuals we are, but we want to be able to easily differentiate what belongs to another versus what belongs to us, and discern when we are being influenced by the energy of others. 

Why protect your energy in the first place?

You don’t protect your energy so that you will never feel “negative” emotions like anger or sadness. So-called “negative” emotions or situations can’t be avoided entirely (nor should they be, as processing all emotions is important). 

However, you do want to be aware of your emotions, as well as those of others, so that you don’t become victim to letting the energy of others affect your life and work, something that can happen commonly (and easily) for highly sensitive entrepreneurs. (And this isn’t just something that happens in person. It can also happen on social media!)

When we become more aware of the energy in the room — whether online or offline, as well as the energy we’re bringing to the table, we can consciously safeguard and protect our own energy, so that we don’t take on the energy of those around us.

What happens when your energy isn’t protected

• You start the day in a good mood, but then open social media, see something that makes you angry, and suddenly find you have “absorbed” the anger and you can’t return to the good mood you started with, no matter what you do.

• You meet a friend for coffee, feeling excited to share some good news, but she starts complaining, and before long, you are joining her in the complaint department, leaving the interaction feeling down or depressed.

• You arrive home from work stressed from the long day, only to realize your partner is also stressed, and suddenly a big fight sparks seemingly out of nowhere. One that probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise. 

In each of these scenarios, it’s easy to see how you can get influenced by the energy of another person, especially when you’re not aware of it or haven’t taken steps to protect your own energy.

If you’re sensitive to the energy of others, you may be highly sensitive

If you identify with being a highly sensitive entrepreneur, then you know that being sensitive to the energy around you is part of the game.

This quality actually can make you a powerful coach, healer, or therapist — as long as you have strong energetic boundaries.

If you don’t have strong energetic boundaries, you likely find yourself feeling burned out by client calls, changing moods when you have a session with an emotional client, and at the whim of whatever energy any client brings to you that way.

This can happen so easily, sometimes without even realizing it!

This “exposure” can come in many forms — a client, a business situation, social media, the news and world events — and can affect they way you feel and show up in your business. And if you’re not careful, all of this energy overload can lead to entrepreneurial burnout.

So how can you proactively protect your energy? Read on for 7 tips.

7 ways to protect your energy as a highly sensitive entrepreneur

If you’re a highly sensitive individual who is looking to protect your energy, practice these 7 tips.

1. Ask yourself: Whose energy is it, anyway?

When someone is upset, angry, or just in a bad mood, it can be very easy to assume it’s about you. Don’t take it personally. You have no idea what another person is thinking, feeling, or experiencing in that moment. Remember that another’s actions and words are not a reflection of you; they are a reflection of that person. Likewise, pay attention to your own energy as you enter and leave a situation. What energy did you bring into the situation? How do you feel after you’ve left? These are good cues for identifying to whom the energy actually belongs.

2. Create space from the person, space, or situation causing the “negative” energy.

While it’s not always possible, the easiest thing to do in the moment is to remove yourself from the source of pain, frustration, or emotional overload. You can choose to close the Instagram app, leave the conversation respectfully, or simply take a break and come back to the conversation or task at hand. If this is available to you, great. If this is not available to you immediately, find a safe place later where you can reconnect to yourself. 

3. Take a pause and regulate your nervous system. 

If you are feeling strongly affected by the energy of any situation, place, or person, the best thing you can do for yourself is this: TAKE A PAUSE. Literally, give yourself a mental time out. While your instinct may be to react emotionally, the more you can practice creating space between the stimulus and response, the more calm your nervous system, and the more conscious you will become about your own actions. Try viewing the situation as an unattached observer and zoom out. What is the dynamic that is playing out here?

4. Get back into your body.

When you’re feeling overpowered or overwhelmed by the energy of others, you may not be as present in your own body. Instead, you might even find yourself in a survival mechanism like fight, flight, freeze or fawn response. This is your nervous system’s response to a (perceived or real) threat. If you find yourself here, you might practice some nervous system regulation activities. For example: take some deep breaths, shake out your body, go outside and put your feet in the grass. Do what you can to bring you back to your body and get centered.

5. Work through any energetic triggers that arise.

It’s not uncommon for triggers to arise when you are feeling energetically and emotionally overwhelmed. After calming your nervous system, if you are feeling resourced and safe enough to do so, you might take a moment to consciously explore any triggers that arise. At the root of triggers is often some unconscious belief you have about yourself, such as “I’m not good enough,” or “I’m unworthy,” or even “I can’t protect myself.” Getting to the root of these triggers can be challenging and often requires diving into deeper inner work.

6. Set proactive boundaries in advance.

While you can’t always completely shield yourself from the energy of others, places, and situations, setting proactive boundaries in advance can help. This might look like: not hanging out with certain people one-on-one; reducing or setting a time limit on social media; not watching the news or engaging in certain conversations; giving yourself an “escape plan” if you are uncomfortable being in a specific situation. Proactively protecting your time can help you protect your energy.  

7. Create a protective energy shield.

If you notice yourself absorbing the energy of others, try this step proactively. Picture yourself surrounded by an invisible bubble, the color of your choice. This is a strong, unbreakable bubble that protects you from the energy of others and keeps your energy to yourself. No matter where you are or who you are with, the bubble serves to protect you. When you come into contact with negative energy, imagine the negative energy bouncing off the bubble and back to its source.

Cultivating awareness of your own energy, emotions, and thoughts is a practice. With regular practice, you bring more conscious awareness to your energy, so that you can better protect yourself from the energy of others.