The Body Budget: Why we need to refill our cup

Every day, we wake up with a certain amount of energy in our “body budget.” It’s like a bank account, everything we do, every client we serve, every emotion we hold space for makes a withdrawal.

As a hairdresser, I see this up close. My work isn’t just colour transformations and beautiful finishes. It’s listening, caring, holding space. And that takes energy. I believe this isn’t unique to me. Teachers, nurses, therapists, anyone in a service role will know exactly what I mean.

If we’re not mindful of our body budget, we end up overdrawn. That’s when burnout creeps in. 

How We Refill Our Cup

For me, it’s often the simplest things. The little girly things I loved as a child that bring me back into my body. Painting. Journaling. Sitting outside in the sun. Even braiding my daughters’ hair. Ive even taken up a mini hobby braiding and dreading high heat synthetic and decorating it with hair pennants. Perhaps thats another story for another day... You get it.

They’re not grand gestures. They’re rituals that remind me who I am beyond what I give. They’re the deposits that balance the withdrawals.

Why This Matters

If you’re in a role where you give and give, you need practices that refill you. Otherwise, you’re not just running on empty, you’re borrowing from tomorrow’s energy, and eventually the cost is too high.

This is the heart of my upcoming book, Crown Work. It’s about more than hair. It’s about recognising the cycles of giving and receiving, of rinsing and repeating, and of treating your energy like the precious resource it is.

An Invitation

Think about your own body budget. What’s been draining you? And what are the little rituals that could refill your cup?

You deserve to feel nourished too. Your light matters, not just what you give to others, but what you keep alive in yourself.