Tall guy. Kiss Shirt. Existential Spiral (Level 2) 🎸

Last week, we talked about that all-too-familiar concert moment—you’re perfectly positioned, buzzing with excitement, when suddenly an extra tall guy shimmies into a landing spot right in front of you.

How you react to moments like this shapes how you experience your life, every single day.

That’s where the Seven Levels of Energy* come in—7 different ways we see ourselves and the world around us. The energy we’re in impacts everything from our mood to the actions we take.

One way you might respond when the tall dude shows up is what I call the “potted plant” response: shoulders slumped, a resigned sigh, and a quiet “Why does this ALWAYS happen to me?”

That’s Level 1 Energy.

Level 1 is the energy of powerlessness and overwhelm. It’s loaded with self-criticism and doubt.

Before you start beating yourself up for feeling like this sometimes, let me jump in real quick: This is a normal response!
All of us have reactions like this! Totally OK. And... we get to decide if we stay in the reaction mode or notice it and then decide to respond another way.

Nothing has gone wrong. We notice, we get curious, we move on. Cool?

Okay, back to Level 1...

This energy can keep us stuck—figuratively and literally when at the show - staring at the back of some guy’s Kiss t-shirt while mentally listing every other time life hasn’t gone our way. We get so caught in our heads that we miss the opening song and fail to notice there’s a wide-open spot we could dance our way into just ten feet away.

Level 1 narrows our vision and keeps us focused on problems.

As we move through this series, you’ll learn to notice which energy you’re in—and begin to choose the type that’s most useful in each moment.

Level 1 isn’t a flaw or a failure. It actually serves a purpose. The key is learning to tell when you’re choosing Level 1—and when it’s choosing you.

Sometimes Level 1 makes total sense, and we want to lean into it.

Sometimes life is hard as heck, and we want to sit in the sadness, feel the powerlessness of a situation, and just be in it. Level 1 has helped me lean on friends during hard times, learn from my mistakes, and avoid wasting energy on arguments that truly don’t matter.

But sometimes Level 1 becomes our default response, and it starts showing up everywhere:

• We sit in the doctor’s waiting room, counting each person called before us, feeling increasingly invisible.

• We stay silent in meetings, thinking, “My opinion doesn’t matter anyway.”

• We avoid checking our credit card statement after that expensive “miracle” serum that only delivered irritation and regret.

So this week my challenge to you is to simply notice:

📌 Where are you slipping into Level 1?

No need to fix it. Just pay attention. What shifts when you simply start noticing it?

Next week, we’ll return to that concert—and see what it looks like to respond with Level 2 Energy.

🔥 Spoiler alert: It’s got a little more fire.

Stay curious,

Missy

P.S. Curious about how Level 1 may be holding you back? How about Levels 2-7? Sign up for the Possibilities Package and get your personalized energy chart and a one-on-one session with yours truly to learn how to use your energy instead of being drained by it.. Learn more here!

P.S.S. This message was originally part of an email series I send out to my community.  If it sparked something for you, you’ll love the rest of them. Weekly, I share personal stories, offer up perspective shifts, and small tips that make a big difference.

👉 [Join the list here] to get the next one in your inbox. (And don’t worry — I only send good stuff. No spam, ever.)

* Based on Bruce Schneider’s Energy Leadership™ framework.