The Light Me Up Guide

A practical pathway back to fulfillment, energy, and flow...

Overwhelm and burnout aren’t signs that you’re doing too much.

They’re signs that you’re doing too little of what lights you up.

Burnout happens when your days are full but your alignment is empty.

When obligation outweighs inspiration.

When productivity replaces pleasure.

The solution isn’t rest alone.

It’s reconnection.

This guide will help you gently, practically, and honestly rediscover what naturally lights you up—and how to do more of it without blowing up your life.

Step 1: Understand the Signal

Your emotions are not random.

They are guidance.

• Heavy, drained, resentful → you’re pushing upstream

• Curious, energized, relieved → you’re moving with the current

Burnout is your system saying: “This path requires too much force.”

Fulfillment doesn’t come from effort.

It comes from alignment.

Step 2: The “Light vs. Drain” Awareness Practice

For the next 3–5 days, simply notice, no fixing required.

At the end of each day, jot down:

• 3 things that drained you today.
• 3 things that gave you even a 5% lift.

Important:

What lights you up doesn’t have to be dramatic.

A deep breath. A warm shower. A meaningful text.

Your nervous system knows the difference.

Step 3: The Expansion Question

Ask this question often, especially when choosing how to spend your time:
“Does this expand me… or contract me?”

Expansion feels like:

• openness
• curiosity
• relief
• possibility

Contraction feels like:

• tightness
• obligation
• dread
• resistance

You don’t need to eliminate everything contracting.

You simply need to balance it with expansion.

Step 4: The “Follow the Light” Exercise

This is where momentum begins.

Answer these honestly, no censoring:

1. What do I do that makes time disappear? (Even if I rarely do it now)

2. What did I love before I was “productive”?

3. What feels nourishing, even if it makes no sense?

4. If no one needed anything from me today, what would I naturally do?

Circle anything that creates relief as you read it. That relief is guidance.

Step 5: The 10% Rule (This Is Key)

You don’t need a new life.

You need 10% more light.

Ask:

• How can I bring 10% more joy into this task?
• How can I schedule 10% more of what feels good this week?
• What’s one small pleasure I’ve been postponing?

Fulfillment compounds quickly when it’s practiced gently.

Step 6: Permission (The Missing Ingredient)

Many people know what lights them up.

They just don’t feel allowed.

So let this be your permission:

• You don’t need to earn joy.
• You don’t need to justify pleasure.
• Feeling good is not a distraction from your purpose. It’s the pathway to it.

When you follow what lights you up:

• clarity increases
• energy returns
• right action becomes obvious

You don’t chase fulfillment.

You allow it.

Daily Alignment Check-In

End each day with this simple sentence:

“Today, I honored what lit me up by ________.”

Even if the answer is small, it’s enough.

Small lights, followed consistently, create a life that no longer burns you out.

Final Thought

Burnout is not a failure of discipline.

It’s a request for alignment.

And alignment always begins with one brave choice: to follow the light instead of forcing the path.

Want help applying this gently and practically?

Click HERE to Download The Light Me Up Worksheet, a simple 10-minute tool to reconnect with what fuels you and begin shifting burnout from the inside out.