A Perfectionist is chasing an illusion it doesn't exist in business
Ruble Chandy
Expand Your Energy Cup and Expand Your Business
Why You Need to Expand Your Cup
We often hear the advice to “empty your cup” to make room for new knowledge and growth. While this sounds reasonable, it overlooks a fundamental truth: how much can you really empty? Over time, your mind has been conditioned by experiences, beliefs, and influences from parents, teachers, and society. These mental frameworks shape how you receive and process information. Trying to empty your mind of these deeply ingrained patterns is nearly impossible. Instead of struggling to empty your cup, what if you could expand it? By expanding your mind’s capacity, you create space for more wisdom, energy, and success without losing your foundation.
What It Means to Expand Your Cup
Your “cup” is a metaphor for your mind — the process that regulates the flow of information and energy. When your mind is too controlled or restricted, it limits how much you can receive and process. Expanding your cup means loosening these mental controls in a balanced way — not abandoning structure entirely, but achieving a state of controlled chaos. This balance allows you to increase your mental capacity, process more complex information, and operate with greater creativity and resilience.
The mind is structured around seven core layers that shape your identity:
Identity – Who you think you are.
Stories – The narratives that define you.
Beliefs – What you hold as true.
Values – What matters most to you.
Needs and Drives – What motivates your actions.
Habits – Your behavioral patterns.
Emotions – How you emotionally respond to life.
Each of these layers has a shadow side — the negative stories, limiting beliefs, and emotional wounds that hold you back. Expanding your cup means recognizing these shadows and integrating them into your identity, rather than rejecting or fighting them.
How to Expand Your Cup
- Identify Your Shadow
Your shadow is the part of you that you’ve been trying to avoid or deny. Often, this stems from early experiences where someone — a parent, teacher, or peer — labeled you negatively. For example, if you were told you’re lazy, you may have spent your life overworking to prove them wrong. But this effort to deny laziness is draining your energy and limiting your growth.
Action Step: Write down the three words you never want to be described by. Which one has the highest emotional charge? That’s your primary shadow.
- Reframe the Shadow
Instead of resisting your shadow, reframe it as a hidden gift. If someone called you lazy, the hidden gift might be the potential for intelligent hard work. By recognizing this, you stop wasting energy proving you’re not lazy and instead channel that energy into purposeful action.
Action Step: Find evidence where you’ve already demonstrated the opposite of your shadow. If you’re fighting against being seen as lazy, list times when you’ve shown hard work and commitment.
- Create a New Identity Declaration
To expand your identity, you need to declare a new version of yourself that aligns with your strengths rather than your fears. If your shadow is laziness, your new identity might be: “I am intelligently hardworking.” This shift creates a powerful internal alignment.
Action Step: Write a declaration that reflects your new identity. Repeat it daily and align your actions with it.
- Act on the New Identity
Transformation happens when you align your behavior with your new identity. If you declare yourself as intelligently hardworking, act that way consistently. The more evidence you gather that supports this new identity, the stronger it becomes.
Action Step: Each day, intentionally act in ways that align with your new identity. Keep track of these actions to reinforce the shift.
What If You Master This Concept?
What if you could stop wasting 80% of your energy proving you’re not something — and instead direct that energy toward building the life and business you truly want? What if you could reframe past criticisms as hidden guidance toward greatness? When you expand your cup, you create more capacity for creativity, wisdom, and success. You stop working from a place of fear and scarcity and start building from a foundation of strength and authenticity.
Imagine the compounding effect of reclaiming your mental and emotional energy. Your business thrives because you’re no longer distracted by internal conflicts. Your relationships deepen because you’re no longer driven by subconscious wounds. You operate from a place of clarity, confidence, and purpose. That’s the power of expanding your cup.
Summary
The idea of emptying your cup to grow is outdated. True growth comes from expanding your cup — increasing your mind’s capacity to receive and process information and energy. Your identity is shaped by seven core layers, each with a shadow side. By identifying and reframing your shadow, you stop wasting energy fighting against it and start channeling that energy into growth. Through a new identity declaration and aligned action, you shift from a place of scarcity and self-doubt to one of strength and abundance. Expanding your cup isn’t just about growth — it’s about stepping into your fullest potential.
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