Ever heard of the Spoon Theory?
I only recently came across it… and honestly, it explains energy management better than almost anything I’ve heard. The idea is simple: Imagine you wake up each day with a limited number of spoons. Each spoon represents energy. Getting dressed might cost a spoon. Working costs spoons. Stress costs spoons. Appointments cost spoons. Even socialising can cost spoons sometimes. For people living with chronic illness, burnout, anxiety, caregiving stress, or just mentally overloaded seasons of life… the spoons run out quickly. And I think one of the hardest things is that other people often can’t SEE it. They see you smiling. They see you functioning. But they don’t see the constant calculations happening in your head: “If I do this today… will I crash tomorrow?” “Do I have enough energy left for this conversation?” “Is this worth spending my last spoon on?” Honestly, I think a lot of us could benefit from being more aware of our spoons. Not just physically… mentally too. Because some people aren’t lazy. They’re overloaded. Some people aren’t antisocial. They’re exhausted. And sometimes resilience isn’t pushing harder. Sometimes it’s learning how to protect your energy better. What drains your spoons the fastest these days?