Your Energy Levels - What feeds your energy and what drains it?

We are in the home stretch (here in North America) to approaching Spring!  I love it when the days get longer, and I love all the excitement and newness of Spring!  Winter, as beautiful as it is, can take its toll on us emotionally and mentally.  This is the time of year that some people can feel the most down and their energy stores feel low or depleted.

It is time to start paying attention to you!  It is all about how you FEEL!  If you aren't looking after yourself who is?  Some people have a phobia of thinking about or taking care of themselves because they see it as 'Selfish'.  Did you know that selfishness really means "self care." Think of it this way - when you are on an airplane and we are told when the oxygen masks come down to put our own on first before assisting others.  Makes sense right?!  Otherwise we will pass out and then we can't help others.  Well, many of us are running around in life without our oxygen masks on!!!  Some of us are about to pass out!  We are not helpful when we are functioning this way, and if you think that you are - you are simply fooling yourself!

Take a moment to think about your energy levels.  Do you have lots of energy each day, or do you feel like you dragging yourself around each day?  Give yourself an evaluation right now.  On a scale of 0-10 what would you say your average energy level would be?  0 being you are pretty much dead and 10 being it couldn't be any better.  


Now that you have an idea of where you stand, could you use some help in improving your energy levels?


The key to creating change in your life is - awareness!  Were you surprised at the rating you got?  Maybe you were already aware, but feel powerless to change it.  Well, I am here to tell you that you can and I am going to help you do it!  


All it takes is a switch in your thinking from awareness and identifying the problem to finding solutions that work for you.  Ask yourself these questions.  "What is it that feeds me to the core of my soul?"  "What things do I do that make me feel really good inside?"  "What things do I do in my life that feed my energy?"  Now let's look at the flip side.  Are you aware of the things that drain your energy?  You can even take it a step further and ask yourself "Who in my life drains my energy, and who in my life feeds it?"


The above exercise is something you should consider doing on a regular basis, I would even recommend daily.  Ask yourself "What feeds my energy?  What drains my energy?"  When you identify something that is draining your energy you should either reduce it or completely eliminate it, or mentally change how you think about it.  Next of course is that you should find and do more things that bring your energy up, things that make you feel really good and do more of them!


Another important point in maintaining your energy levels is living a balanced life!  The entire Universe is about balance.  Yin and Yang.  Remember to be balanced in your: sleep, exercise, eating habits, work, relationships, and anything else you can think of in your life!  When you experience balance and joy, your body will thank you by giving you more energy!

5 things you can do to boost your energy! Pick one that you are drawn to, or maybe it is all of them and make yourself feel better!

1.  Do you say 'yes' when you really want to say 'no'?  


One thing that is very draining to a person's energy is when you do things out of duty instead of from your heart.  It is very draining on your emotions and energy stores.  It is important to do things because you WANT to do them, because it feels good to make a difference and you feel valued for your efforts.  Listen to what your body is telling you.  If someone is expecting you to do something for them, and you really feel drained just thinking about it - maybe it is time for that someone to find a new helper, or maybe it is time they try to manage it on their own!


2.  Do something that makes YOU feel good!


Are you taking time to do something for yourself each day that makes you feel good?  When you do something that makes you feel good, it is an instant energy booster.  It could be as simple as a bubble bath, enjoying a good book, or simply making yourself a cup of your favourite tea.  Once you have decided, enjoy every moment of it by being present.  Stop thinking about what needs to be done next and enjoy how good this is making you feel.  Really FEEL it!!  Savour the moment while it lasts.  Some times I just force myself to smile if I am being too serious and that is enough to change how I am feeling inside!


3.  Relationships!


Take a look in your life at the relationships that you have.  Who makes you feel good?  When you feel good around someone, that means you are bringing out the best in each other.  That there is acceptance of each other and harmony when you interact.  You are a match to each other and where you are at in your lives right now.  


TRUST your feelings, as they are always right.  Even if your logical mind doesn't understand it.  These feelings are usually in whispers, but we must learn to trust them.  I have learned over the years to trust those feelings, otherwise I end up learning the hard way.  I could do a blog for a whole week on this subject - maybe even longer, I am sure of it!  For now, just be aware of how you feel around people.  Just pay attention, and you will find this very interesting.  


As you do this exercise please remember it is not for judgement!  There is no right or wrong here, good or bad.  It just simply means you are either in harmony with certain people and others you may not be because they may not be a match for who you are and what you are trying to accomplish.  I have people in my life who I have come to realize can be really draining on my energy.  In some cases it took me days to recover after a visit.  So now I just choose to see them less, and there is nothing wrong with that.  In fact you are doing them a favour too - they just aren't as aware of it as you are!


If it is someone really close to you like your spouse, then you are really going to need to go inside of yourself and evaluate what you really want.  Is the relationship salvageable?  Do you want to fix it, or are you too far apart from where you both want to be to even make it work?  Communication can do wonders, so if you think I am saying you need to go home right now and sever all of these draining relationships, you may have misunderstood!  You do have choices, but it is an inside job of discovering what you want from it!


4.  Make someone else feel good!


It is proven fact that when you make someone else feel good, you receive equal benefits!  So you both win, and now you have doubled the FEEL GOOD quotient!  Look for opportunity in your day to make someone else feel good.  It doesn't have to cost you a dime!  Maybe it is as simple as a smile to that Grumpy Gus in the office next to yours.  Maybe you can keep an eye out for an opportunity to compliment someone genuinely and sincerely about how they look today or what they are wearing.  It MUST be sincere to get the full value!  So pick something that genuinely appeals to you and extend a sincere heartfelt compliment to them.  The energy created by this exchange between you is something money can't buy!


5. Self Acceptance


What are you focused on throughout your day?  Where your mind goes, your body follows!  So if you are focused on making decisions that make you feel good, your whole body will follow.  Are you being kind to yourself?  Most of us are looking for love and acceptance externally (from others) but what is really important is that you are looking within yourself first, as that is where it really counts.  When you genuinely accept yourself others will naturally accept you too.


Can you look in the mirror and tell yourself that you love yourself?  Have you ever tried it?  It can be very uncomfortable, but as you do it more, it gets easier and you will be surprised at what it can do for your self esteem.  Do you accept yourself right now exactly as you are?  Do you completely love and accept yourself?  


Just knowing that you are perfect right now exactly as you are, is enough!  We are always trying to accomplish this and achieve that, but we are already whole.  So savour the present moment and know that you are an all loving kind and caring person who doesn't have to TRY to be anything more than you already are!


Exercise 


Take a nice deep breath in through your nose and then out through your mouth.  On your next breath I want you to - Breathe in "self acceptance", and as you exhale release "self judgement"!  
Even more powerful if you can close your eyes and allow yourself to feel self acceptance as you do the exercise.  Do this several times in your day and you will see your confidence in yourself and the decisions in your day begin to improve!


or


Breathe in as you say to yourself (out loud or in your head whatever works for you) "I am wonderful", and exhale as you say "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks!"






My final thoughts for today - Found a quote on Facebook by Christina Seitz - I couldn't have said it any better myself!!  


Taking care of YOU is the foundation for all great things to evolve in your life. Self care is the FIRST building block to your own greatness. When you are taking care of you, you are getting those great ideas, you have the energy to act on them and you are acting like a magnet for ease and flow to enter into your life.

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