How Well Are You Managing Your Energy?
This is not a home improvement article, but a personal growth one.
Every day we face situations and people that either add a positive charge to our day or drain the life out of us, thus the key to a better life is managing your energy encounters so that you have much more positive energy coming in than negative.
Energy chargers are people, activities, or things that lift our spirits and radiate positivity, leaving us feeling happier, recharged, and inspired.
Energy drainers are people, activities, or things that negatively impact us and drain our energy, leaving us exhausted, depleted, and deflated.
The goal of this article is to help you become an energy expert, filling your days with good energy – energy chargers.
Personal Energy Chargers
Positive People. We all need people in our lives who lift us up, support us, and encourage us. Cultivate and grow a positive and supportive community of friends and family.
Healthy, Nourishing Foods. When we eat healthy, real foods, cooked from scratch, we are using food as medicine – its intended purpose. Buy organic when possible. Even better, eat locally grown foods.
Movement, Physical Activity. Movement is a natural anti-depressant, and research has shown that exercise may boost mood (and brain health) by increasing BDNF, an important neurochemical.
Sunlight and Nature. Daily sun exposure, especially early and late in the day, helps better orient our bodies to a daily cycle, helping with better mood and sleep. Time in nature has multiple benefits for the body, brain, gut, and mood.
Hydration. According to most reports, the great majority of the population is chronically dehydrated, which can often be misconstrued as hunger. Focusing on keeping your body hydrated throughout the day. Water, coffee, teas, and electrolytes are all good sources, but remember to not sweeten with any sugars.
Gratitude. Nothing gets us outside our heads (and problems) faster than keeping a gratitude practice. It is so easy to forget all the little joys throughout your day, but getting into the habit of pausing and reflecting during those moments is a game-changer.
Sleep, Rest, Relaxation. People sometimes forget we are human “beings” not humans “going.” Sleep, like hydration, is another thing that most people are short on; the more consistent and quality sleep one gets, the more energy, health, and focus.
Spirituality. Believing in a higher power that connects us all together is transformative, moving people away from individual actors living a life without purpose to living a life being connected to the Divine and having a strong spiritual life.
Volunteering/Serving Others. Giving your time in the work of helping others is a big energy charger. You can easily find a plethora of opportunities to serve your community, from helping a neighbor to volunteering with helping nonprofits.
Creative Activities. Making the time and indulging in creative habits (such as writing, drawing, dancing, woodworking, cooking, baking, decorating, etc.) provides a great boost to the brain and the heart.
Personal Energy Drainers
Focusing on the Past. When we have trauma wounds in our past (and most of us do), we spend extremely too much psychic energy and wasted time reliving and reexamining the past, rehashing “what-ifs” rather than finding a path forward to healing.
Addictions, Attractions. Past trauma changes us, whether we are consciously aware or not. To avoid having to face these events and the affiliated emotions, people find ways to numb, distract, and avoid. Drugs, porn, gambling, sex, shopping, etc. are all ineffective coping mechanisms.
Negative People. The last thing you need in your life when trying to deal with your own issues is someone who is negative, hurtful, or abusive. These people are a serious drain on our energy and the only solution is to place strong boundaries to protect your exposure to them.
Junk, Convenience Foods. The broken food system is literally killing you with convenience with foods that are decadent and filled with empty (but deadly) calories from excess sugar, inflammatory seed oils, and chemical additives. Focus on preparing your own food – and ideally, growing some of your own food.
Overthinking. If it takes you hours and hours (or days and days) to make even the simplest of decisions, then you have a big energy drainer in excessive thinking. If you spend much time second-guessing your choices and/or imagining anxiety-provoking worst-case scenarios, this is a habit you must break. Build up a new habit starting with easy decisions.
Comparisons, Negative Self-Talk. We can be our harshest critics, especially if we had at least one parent as a child who was overly critical with us. Social media makes it so much worse. You and your situation are unique; there is NO reason to ever compare yourself to anyone else.
Workaholism. You may be your employer’s favorite employee, or perhaps you’re an entrepreneur who is focused on their business 24/7, but these are not traits to celebrate; work can become an addiction. Putting all your time and energy into your work is simply an escape mechanism so you don’t have to deal with the real issues troubling you.
Procrastination. Many people have an issue with procrastination, with putting things off until some future time. Perhaps it may seem like the goal/task is so overwhelming that we keep putting it off, but all that does it put more pressure on us mentally and emotionally.
Clutter. It is a bit ironic that when people are in distress, they often fill their homes with things that “comfort” them – until it gets to a point where the clutter/hoarding becomes like a prison. Studies show a strong connection between cleanliness and mental health, so before it gets too bad, take a weekend to declutter and organize your space.
Final Thoughts on Managing Your Energy
The one term that keeps surfacing regarding how to manage your energy to the best and highest levels is mindfulness and living in the present.
A great exercise is for one day – or even better, one week – to focus on being mindful of how you think, feel, and behave. How many of the energy drainers do you do without even being aware of it?
What about with energy chargers? Do a similar experiment in which you mindfully partake in one or more of these activities throughout your day. How does it feel at the end of the day compared to other days?
You may have to make some hard and uncomfortable choices on this journey. You may have to distance yourself from a friend or relative; you may have to completely overhaul how and what you eat; you may have to transform your lifestyle; and you may have to rethink how you see yourself separate from others.
Additional Energy Information Sources
Dr. Randall Hansen is an advocate, educator, mentor, ethicist, and thought-leader... helping the world heal from past trauma. He is founder and CEO of EmpoweringSites.com, a network of empowering and transformative Websites, including EmpoweringAdvice.com.
He is the author of the groundbreaking Triumph Over Trauma: Psychedelic Medicines are Helping People Heal Their Trauma, Change Their Lives, and Grow Their Spirituality and the well-received HEAL! Wholeistic Practices to Help Clear Your Trauma, Heal Yourself, and Live Your Best Life.
His latest book is a true game-changer: The HEALing Revolution Diet: A Science-based Approach to Heal Your Gut, Reverse Chronic Illnesses, Lose Weight, Clear Your Mind, and Increase Longevity.
Dr. Hansen's focus and advocacy center around true healing ... healing that results in being able to live an authentic life filled with peace, joy, love. Learn more by visiting his personal Website, RandallSHansen.com. You can also check out Dr. Randall Hansen on LinkedIn.
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