We2 Wisdom guest post by We2 Member Cathy Cochrane.
More Energy in Minutes
We may have never met, but I know one thing: you do too much.
The stuff you juggle in your business is mind-boggling, nevermind house, husband, kids, parents… But you’re tired, you’re exhausted and that mid-afternoon slump hits like a ton of bricks. You wish there were a magic bullet to restore your energy AND let you sleep at night. There is!
Its simplicity dawned on me over drinks with a friend, as she aired the pressures of the work: the budget, the politics, the parents, a crisis blown out of control. As she vented about everything on her plate, about how knackered she felt, I asked, “What is it you’re NOT doing?”
Her eyes lit up and the weight of 10 years dropped from her face. You harp on about how much stamina it takes to get through what’s expected of you, but, how much of your fuel gets burned avoiding things? Or sweeping undesirables under the rug over and over again? Some pretty small tasks on my to-do list used to zap my enthusiasm for work. That one item, shuffled day to day, week to week. I would literally feel heavy as I wrote it down or worked around it.
Aware of the pattern, I made an effort to shift it. I committed to choosing ONE task that would get done by day’s end. A call or email, a report, ask for help with an issue. Rather than avoid said item, I started to do it first thing. Now a regular practice, I’m amazed at how much I get done in a day, and still have mojo left for ME, my kids and my honey.
This premise spilled over to the rest of my life. Take those supplements, a chat with my son, a walk or a stretch. Having enough energy isn’t just about refilling your cup. The key is to clear away what uses up your juice unnecessarily.
The daily goals I set aren’t complicated. The amount of vitality I was losing to hold resistance in place was ridiculously disproportionate to what it took just to do the darned thing.
The full impact goes much deeper. When you stop yourself from doing, saying, creating something important to you, you’re shutting out part of who you are. Those ideas and feelings shine from your soul – true expressions of you. Regardless of what’s on the outside of your business or home life, coming to the table with your whole self is the part that fulfills you… fills your cup and renews your energy.
Curtailing my activities from lack of knowledge or money, or whichever excuse, I lose the momentum for work because I’ve lost the flow of inspiration and expression that keeps it alive. The most remarkable benefit of this seemingly insignificant shift: stronger client work. With energy to be more fully present for them, we work more deeply and efficiently. One wrote, “You’ve hit on some fundamentals in my life and it didn’t take much.”
So tell me: What is it that you’re not doing and what’s it costing you?
You know what it is. Now go and do it!
