OFF STAGE with Lisa O'Neill

Your people can make or break you so why do most of us pay so little attention to where our energy actually goes? This week, I'm making the case for auditing your people: leaning into the ones who lift you, gently leaning away from the ones who drain you, and getting prescriptive about the good ones you're still missing. Because hope is not a plan.

The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

You're the biggest brainwasher in your own life and most of the cruel stories you tell yourself came from other people years ago. I want you to catch it. Course correct. When you hear yourself say something cruel, talk back. Grab a friend to pull you up. And find your line — mine, from Louise Hay, is "I'm safe and loved." That's the good kind of brainwashing.

The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

Busy is a choice, stress is a choice, joy is a choice. And here's the uncomfortable bit. If you don't make a decision, that's still a decision. Sometimes there's no good option, just the best bad one. So what's yours right now?

We sit around thinking "soon I'll feel amazing and then I'll do something." Flip it. Go do something then see how you feel. The energy comes after the action.

I'm not a natural rester. My ADHD and my packed life don't make space for it. So I taught myself, and after a weekend lying down at a retreat in the Coromandel, I'm not tired for the first time all year. This week, I'm talking about why rest goes deeper than sleep, what trees can teach us, and why "I haven't got time" is the exact belief keeping you exhausted.

Your life moves in the direction of your strongest thought. So what's yours right now? Mine is lucky. This week, I'm talking about why that one word is changing everything, plus a moment at a women's conference in Queenstown that absolutely got me, and why everything, the tea you drink, the person you sit next to, the time you go to bed is an energy decision.

Sometimes you have to reintroduce yourself from scratch. This week, I'm talking about getting to know myself again at 55, why "what are you into?" is a better question than "what do you do?", and why having an answer matters more than you think.

I got a cold and it reminded me that having a system matters. This week, I'm sharing everything I reach for when my body starts sending warning signals potassium broth, a hot whiskey remedy that a Scottish friend swears by, and the permission to tap out before you actually need to.

The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

I used to exercise because I felt like I had to. Now I do it because it's a privilege and my body can and that shift has changed everything. This week, I'm talking strength, flexibility, coordination, and why falling in love with taking care of yourself is one of the most powerful decisions you'll ever make.

find another layer waiting underneath. This week, I'm talking about how to actually do it. The list, the plan, and yes, burning the paper, whether it's clutter, a habit, or a person who's been glued into your life way past their expiry date.

The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz