How to Realign Your Energy When You Wake Up Bitter
Bitterness is the not-self theme of Human Design Projectors, but I’d venture to say that most humans, especially women, struggle with bitterness from time to time. We have all had those mornings that begin with resistance, resentment, or restlessness, or those moments of feeling cynical, noticing our quiet grudges, and caught up in comparison.
I used to try to force my way out of these days, but I’ve found a new routine that allows me to move with it, be curious about it, and eventually realign my energy. I’m offering up 5 ways of working with bitter energy. After each example, I have some reflective questions for you to work through to find your way of working through bitterness. These suggestions aren't a linear progression or a map; they are what works for me, presented in a way to help you find what works for you.
LEAN ON ENERGY CULTIVATORS
As a Projector, it’s vital for me to have a way to cultivate and awaken my life force energy. If you’re not a projector, you may not have to do as much, or work with this for as long, but it’s a sacred combination of habits and rituals that I’ve curated to help me bring my soulful self alive. Energy cultivators are like what happens when you rub cold hands together – eventually, they warm up. These practices shift your energy from one state to another.
For me, these practices include:
Morning pages (3 pages of daily journaling; on bitter days, shoot for as many as you need)
Lighting incense or incorporating smoke (sage, palo santo)
Instrumental music (like binaural beats or classical music)
Looseleaf peppermint tea (helps to ‘cool’ my insides)
Movement and body connection (ideally outdoors)
Design your own energy cultivators. Ask yourself:
What rituals or practices help me feel most like me? How can I bring one of them into my morning today?
Where in my body do I feel bitterness right now? What might it be asking for?
What does my energy need today: stillness, movement, expression, nourishment, or something else?
DECREASE THE NOISE
Take a content consumption break. Get off social media - turn off the news - walk away from Netflix - even a few hours at a time can work wonders.
Quiet your world. Ask yourself:
What input (social media, news, people, etc.) is currently amplifying my bitterness or comparison?
When was the last time I truly heard my own voice beneath the noise?
What kind of quiet or solitude feels most healing for me today?
CREATE
If I am in an energetic rut, I focus on creating first and performing second. This is one reason why the last page of my morning pages is typically a poem.
When you focus on creating over performing, especially as a Projector, you cultivate your unique energy rather than giving it away to the demands of your day. Creative projects can be big or small, and I encourage you to find a simple form of creative expression.
Maybe it’s singing your favorite song out loud
Maybe it’s writing a short haiku (3 lines, each line has 5/7/5 syllables)
Maybe it’s drawing a doodle of your day
Maybe it’s trying out a new recipe
As someone who has finished a creative project every 90 days for the last 2 years, I highly recommend prioritizing creativity before productivity.
Create your reality. Ask yourself:
What wants to be expressed through me today, without judgment or perfection?
If I weren’t trying to perform or prove anything, what would I create just for the joy of it?
What small act of creativity could feel like an energetic reset right now?
CONNECT WITH YOUR INNER CIRCLE
Who are the people who lift you up?
Not the ones you have to perform for. Not the ones YOU have to hold (or GUIDE as a projector). Not the ones who represent who you were
But the ones who get who you are NOW and where you are going.
Surround yourself with good ones. Ask yourself:
Who in my life helps me feel seen, safe, and supported, without needing to earn it?
What would it feel like to reach out for support or connection right now?
Am I holding onto connections that reflect a past version of me? What am I ready to release?
CONSIDER BITTERNESS’S OPPOSITES
How can you transform this bitter emotion into its opposite? If you think of it along the line of a spectrum, how can you walk your way over to the other side?
Bridge the opposites. Ask yourself:
Sweetness: Maybe you need a sweet treat. What nourishment do you need today?
Gratitude: Maybe it’s been a minute since you’ve listed 10 things you're grateful for. What are you most grateful for in this moment?
Contentment: Maybe you need to give yourself permission that “done is better than perfect”. What is the purpose of contentment in your life?
Compassion: Maybe you need to talk to yourself like you would a friend. What is the last nice thing you said to yourself?
Forgiveness: Maybe you need to forgive someone, maybe even yourself, for something in your past. What is on the other side of forgiveness?
Joy: Maybe you need to lean a little bit farther into the true lights of your life. I *dare* you to do this one. What brings you the most joy?
MOVE FORWARD WITH EASE
Bitterness doesn’t have to be the end of the story—it can be the beginning of a deeper dialogue with yourself. As a Projector and an intuitive being, I’ve learned that bitterness is often a signal, not a flaw. It’s a gentle (or sometimes not-so-gentle) nudge back to alignment, an invitation to tend to your energy with care, intention, and curiosity. These practices aren’t about fixing yourself; they’re about remembering who you are beneath the noise, the performance, and the pressure. May this guide be a mirror, a balm, and a permission slip to meet your bitter mornings with softness and sovereignty—and to discover, in your own way, the sweetness on the other side.