Category Archives: Energy

Be aware of your attitude and energy

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Be aware of your attitude and energy. Making mindful transitions helps your mode meet the moment.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Patrick Hendry

How masterful are you at tuning into your inner and outer worlds?

How aware are you of your current attitude and energy levels?

How in sync are they with the people and events around you?

Seeing when the pieces fit and feeling when those flow states show up is the best! Wouldn’t it be nice if these conditions could be sustained for hours instead of minutes?

What makes this so difficult may be that we are constantly experiencing more and more transition states that require constant pivoting and adjustments.

Consider all the various sporting events in which you participate or watch.

Mastering the transition game is what separates the good from the great.

EXERCISE:

In what ways can you mindfully monitor your attitude and energy to have more of your modes meet more of your moments?

“It’s easier to have the vigor of youth when you’re old than the wisdom of age when you are young.”

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“It’s easier to have the vigor of youth when you’re old than the wisdom of age when you are young.”

—Richard J. Needham, 20th Century Canadian humor columnist

Image from Unsplash by Maarten van den Hovel

One of the many bonuses of moving back to Pennsylvania is that we are now neighbors with our cousins Paul and Carol. Paul is the patriarch of our family since the passing of my dad a little over two years ago.

One of the many things we all admire about Paul is his boundless energy. In his early eighties, he still works two part-time jobs, runs five miles a day, and plays a mean game of ping pong! In early July, he attended five concerts in one week with his daughter, down the Jersey shore.

We all agree that Paul definitely rocks—and has a pretty good voice when the music is turned up.

EXERCISE:

How can you maintain the vigor of youth as you continue down the path of greater wisdom?

Who are the roles models that guide and coach you in the development of these qualities?

Sometimes, to keep going, we have to allow ourselves to stop.

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“Sometimes, to keep going, we have to allow ourselves to stop.”

—Gretchen Rubin, NY Times Bestselling Author, Podcaster, Speaker

Image from Unsplash by Shane

It wasn’t until I had grandchildren that I learned “happy hour” was a new definition for a nap.

Regardless of my meditation practices, exercise efforts, and nutritional pursuits with the latest super foods, just a handful of hours with our two little ones drains most of the pep from my steps.

With some adjustments to our schedules, we have found ways to include the kids in some of our renewal and recharging efforts, including lots of quiet cuddling with pop-pop and grand-mom.

EXERCISE:

Where and when in your life do you feel the greatest need to stop in order to keep going?

How can you monitor and manage your energy levels to optimize your intentions and actions?

Consider picking up a copy of The Power of Full Engagement if this post resonates.

When we feel burned out and depleted

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When we feel burned out and depleted sometimes we need to plug into a new source of energy that renews and restores. Resting is only one available option.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Clint Patterson

When was the last time you experienced burnout or a significant state of energy depletion?

To what degree was this experience physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual?

Beyond our frequent default of resting, what other ways have you discovered to plug in to a different energy source when your get up and go is gone?

EXERCISE:

Imagine you were a vehicle with four separate fuel tanks labeled physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

How might tapping into another tank when your current tank points to “E” be a hidden source of renewal you’ve never considered?

Consider checking out the book The Power of Full Engagement for other ways to manage similar situations when you are out of gas.

Compassion compounds, giving grows, when you put positive energy into the world

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“Compassion compounds, giving grows, when you put positive energy into the world, you inspire others to pay it forward.”

—Jay Shetty, Purpose Coach, Former Monk, NYT Bestselling Author

Image from Amazon

During my pharmaceutical career with The Upjohn Company between 1981 and 1992, we went through a TQM (Total Quality Management) initiative. As part of our efforts, we were requested/required to read the book Zapp — The lightning of Empowerment by William C Byham PhD and Jeff Cox. The intent was to inspire and create a culture of quality, productivity, and exceptional employee engagement.

The fictitious company in the book produced a product called a normalator, with which we are amusingly introduced to all sorts of Zapping (positive) and Sapping (negative) behaviors that uplift or squash people’s spirits.

EXERCISE:

Notice the zapping and sapping energies and behaviors that occur throughout your day in your personal and professional efforts.

Where and how can you pay forward the positive qualities that energize and inspire others to do the same?

Friday Review: Energy

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Friday Review: Energy

What energizes you? How energetic do you feel most days? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

“Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people.”

 

 

 

“A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.”

 

 

 

“The best cure for a sluggish mind is to disturb its routine.”

 

 

 

 

I think you should always bear in mind that entropy is not on your side

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“I think you should always bear in mind that entropy is not on your side.”

—Elon Musk, entrepreneur, investor, and business magnate

Image from Unsplash by Ravi Patel

I’ve recently noticed more and more people in my communities simplifying their lives as they age. Entropy causes both people and things to fall apart, and it takes considerable energy and effort to keep things in working order. With this in mind and with the hands of time always turning, we get to choose where to focus our energies to keep our most essential life elements going and slow entropy’s inevitable victory.

EXERCISE:

What essential infrastructure projects in your life are getting the most attention and energy? Where do the issues of health and quality relationship stand on your list of priorities? What other areas are most important to maintain in good working order for as long as possible?

What’s the best small thing I can do right now

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“What’s the best small thing I can do right now?”

—James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

Image from Unsplash by Photos by Lanty

How energetic do you feel? What levels of energy and vitality do you experience throughout your typical day? What do you notice about your general energy during each season of the year?

What are your levels of productivity and overall life satisfaction as you ponder these questions?

Generally, winter is a time of lower energy for many of us. Darker days and colder temperatures have us seek comfort and much of our get up and go wants to go back to bed.

What do you notice about the relationship between activity and productivity now that winter has passed? Most of us feel greater satisfaction and a sense of overall well-being when we are getting things done.

EXERCISE:

Free yourself today from any grand plans and monumental tasks.

Simply look at the best small thing you can do right now and repeat as often as you wish.

 

“It is not the whistle that moves the train.”

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“It is not the whistle that moves the train.”

—D.V. Rangarajan

Image from Unsplash by Balazs Busznyak

When was the last time you heard the whistle of a train? What thoughts, emotions, and memories do you have from the past about trains?

A few that come to mind for me are:

  • Watching movies about the wild west as a kid
  • Taking the elevated train into the city
  • Playing with toy trains with my friends
  • Taking the Cog Railroad up Mount Washington
  • Riding Thunder Mountain countless times at Disney World
  • Waiting at railroad crossings and counting the cars as they passed, wondering when the train would end

For many of us, trains represent a special form of transportation that take considerable energy and work to move people and things from one place to another. Trains don’t just whistle and stand still. The sound of the whistle lets you know something hopefully good is coming or going your way.

EXERCISE:

In what ways do or can you offer a whistle or other signal to let others know that you back up your words with significant levels of locomotion?

 

“Energy creates energy. It is by spending myself that I become rich.”

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“Energy creates energy. It is by spending myself that I become rich.”

—Sarah Bernhardt, 20th Century French stage actress

Image from Unsplash by Sharon McCutcheon

How do you plan to spend your day?  How did you spend yesterday?  How energetic have you been feeling lately?

I like the idea that through the act of spending we can actually become rich. If the adage “It takes money to make money” has truth behind it, perhaps to spend our energies wisely and actively we can create a life of greater abundance and good fortune as well.

A good place to begin may be with our awareness of our level of vitality and to augment our strategies to both store and release our energies with greater intention and generosity.

EXERCISE:

Take some time today to examine your current approaches to nutrition, exercise, and rest as three places to look to augment and maximize your energy levels. A resource I recommend often is Chris Johnson’s book On Target Living. Please reply to this post on how you plan to pursue a richer more energetic life.