The Energy You Keep: How the People, Content, and Thoughts Around You Shape Your Life

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Welcome to Radhika’s Newsletter “Intent”. This is your bi-weekly guide to purposeful living, wealth-building, and personal growth.

Happy Tuesday! I’m so excited to share this edition of Intent. Today’s topic is all about energy. Before diving in, I wanted to get your opinion on something:

I’ve been thinking about creating a physical version of this newsletter. A newsletter you can hold and keep as part of your personal journey. Each month would include journal prompts, exercises, and reflections for you to practice living with intention. Would love for you to reply with your thoughts!!!

What I’m Sipping On This Lately

Lately, instead of sipping on teas, I’ve actually been really enjoying a Hojicha castella cake I got from Japan. It’s a bit bitter (definitely brings out the toasted flavor of Hojicha in there) but it’s very addicting! If you have any teas to recommend, please let me know - I’d love to try it!

I’ve heard this quote ever since I can remember and on a surface level, it made sense. Your interests are probably similar to the people you spend time with. You probably act like the folks you hang out with. You eat, have hobbies, have the conversations that are in common. Makes sense - but recently I came across the concept of ‘energy’ in everything.

In fact, there’s a word for it in Ayurveda called “Praan” which means life energy or vital energy. Upon further research, I found that most cultures around the world have their own word for this:

• Qi (or Chi): The Chinese concept of a circulating life energy inherent in all things, used in practices like acupuncture and Tai Chi.

• Ki: The Japanese equivalent of Qi or Praan.

• Pneuma: A Greek term for "breath" or "spirit" ; also signifying a vital principle.

• Mana: A Polynesian and Melanesian term for a supernatural force or vital power.

• Ruh: The Islamic and Sufic concept of the spirit or soul.

• Ruah: The Hebrew term for "breath", "spirit", or "wind".

Essentially, it’s the energy that exists in the world that’s not quantifiable in any other concept. After learning this, the quote above has had a deeper meaning on me.

Let’s dive into it: 👇️ 

Energy in the people around you

• Have you ever met someone and immediately felt drained just getting coffee with them?

• Have you gone into an event with hope and excitement and came back out with negative feelings?

• Have you ever traveled to a place and the vibes were just off?

All of that is the life energy flowing around us, flowing from one person to another. Giving and taking away from one to another. As we all learned in 5th grade science class: energy is neither created nor destroyed, just transformed.

That means when you meet someone for coffee and without going into any emotional topics and you feel drained, it’s because of their negative energy affecting your positive energy. In a big city, a lot of people often feel lonely or claustrophobic, that has to do with your energy being taken away by so many other souls in that same environment.

I’ve been thinking about this A LOT lately. Because all of this brings me to one very important question: who are the people I’m surrounding myself with? What do they do to my energy?

Energy in the content you’re consuming

Then there’s energy in the content we’re consuming. During 2020, I started noticing a pattern. I was watching Black Mirror, reading post-apocalyptic headlines, listening to music that was dark and heavy. It made me feel awful.

It felt like the media kept pushing more and more horror movies, tragic shows, and dark content. Eventually, I ended up reading an article on that actually being true. Because it sold and made the giant companies more money. Even if it worsened everyone’s mental health.

As of 2021, I decided ‘you know what. I’m just not going to watch horror anymore’. Why should i bring that into my life?

And then I looked at my social media and thought - wow, there’s a lot of sad stuff on here too. So I unfollowed accounts that shared sad things and followed ones that were focused on health, fitness, and personal growth - the stuff that would bring good energy into my life.

Same thing goes for music too - although there are times when some of the deeper/sad music just feels good.

Energy within yourself

The most important one: the energy within yourself is SO IMPORTANT.

What I mean is: how you talk to yourself matters. What you think, what you say, and how you treat yourself all matter.

First and foremost: start telling yourself “I love you” every single day, even on the days you don’t mean it. I did this for 100 days straight. I went from not believing myself and thinking it was a b.s. activity to actually loving myself deeply.

Second: during challenging times, thank yourself for going through the tough stuff and remind yourself that you can do it. If there’s anyone I know who can handle it, it’s you.

Third: prioritize self-care. Feed yourself better food. Eat things that are good for your body. Give yourself a massage, or take yourself to a masseuse once a week. Do your skincare. Write little notes to your future self and tuck them into your daily routine to find later.

I read this quote recently:

Leverage the power of positive thoughts to become who you say you are. Trust me. It works.

I visualized myself in this journey, in this life, long before I was actually here.

Lastly, I’ll end with this: spread positive words to others. What you say carries profound energy. At the very least, become a spreader of positive energy. Think about how your thoughts and actions affect your partner, your kids, your parents, your friends, your coworkers and even the person you greet at the grocery store.

It all matters. Your words and actions matter.

So, the least we could do is to make sure we’re spreading positive energy in every interaction.

Some music for you this morning on this topic: 😊 

Support My Work

Enjoying this newsletter? If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me tea. Your support means so much! Every cup helps fuel the ideas, research, and energy I put into each newsletter.

👉 Buy me tea

Thank you so much for being a part of the Intent community. I rely on word-of-mouth for growth. If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love for you to share it with a friend.
Your commitment to living with purpose is exactly why this space exists. Can’t wait to share more in the next edition!

Until next time,
Radhika
Creating a life of purpose, wealth, and growth

Your career will thank you.

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