Boundless Energy

Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you have boundless energy? You know: you get much more done that usual, you have energy to spare for your hobbies and friends, you can take on new projects with little or no difficulty and time seems to expand as you need it to? You become physically tired at times, but sleep or even the shortest change of pace brings your right back. You feel good enough to take care of yourself and others as well. Maybe you are experiencing it now. You are at a time in your life when everything seems to fall into place.  Not quite? Then, what does that tell you?

Increasingly, the people I meet are dragging their feet through the day and struggling just to juggle the things that come up at work. Anything that happens outside of that little world is just plain overwhelming. And as time goes on in this state, that distant memory of boundless energy just fades away into oblivion. Most people in this state of disarray don’t even consider that they might have something to do with it. It seems to them that its “just the way life is”, an external force to be reckoned with.

In my experience, this is never the case. Of course they may have accepted things into their lives that are just too much. But how much is too much? If you are anything like me, that varies greatly. The tiniest discrepancy may become too much and the widest scope of daily activities might well be exciting and enticing. So what makes the difference? Is it just perception or are there some unconscious choices involved?

As you move through your day today notice the things that give you energy and the ones that subtract from it. For me, TV takes it away, writing brings it back. Eating healthy meals spikes it and heavy ones depletes it. But beyond the obvious, come the true revelations. What are you doing here? It may not be the activities per se, but what they are meaning to you at this point in your life.

So take a deep breath and do a few things this week that might help you gain perspective:

• Bring back MEANING into your work. Every single day do at least ONE thing at work that you really care about. One that ingites your passion and makes you feel good.
• Be selfless. Caring about others and giving freely will create some of that boundless energy. Be sure you practice generosity on a daily basis. Put it in your checklist and take every opportunity you get. It might not be perfect, but the more you practice the easier it will get. Notice how you feel afterwards. (more tips on my otheresteem blog or in my book on the subject)
• Just BE. Give yourself at least 10 minutes a day to just be. Notice your breathing. Close your eyes and let any thoughts just pass by without hanging on to any of them. If you have some meditation practice, do that. If not, keep it simple. It is about being vs. doing.
• Enjoy. Yes, its a choice. You can enjoy life, or not. No matter what the times are like, there are many things to enjoy. Will yourself to appreciate one thing about yourself or your surroundings, or other people at least every couple of hours. Just a quick reflection will do. Or better yet, express it to someone, write it down, build awareness around this. It takes virtually no time but will free up more energy that you can imagine.

I am sure you can think of more. Share your energy-replenishing insights in the comments below and don’t be shy…Go for boundless!

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