Energize Your Life

Energy is one of our most precious personal resources. Using your energy wisely allows you to create your ideal life.

Wise use of personal energry starts by:

1. Identifying exactly what you really want from life.

2. Visualizing what your ideal life looks and feels like. Write it down and get a visual image that represents your vision.

3. Posting your vision in places you know you will see constantly during the day is motivating. Surround yourself with your vision and it will become a part of you!

4. Developing your life's blueprint. Take a sheet of paper. Divide it into three columns. In the first column list 5 changes you want to make in your life. In the middle column list the benefits these changes will bring to your life. In the last column list all the things you can do to bring about these changes.

Take a few minutes and really look at your life's blueprint. Are you ready and willing to start to create it and live it? If so then use your energy and take action to make the necessary changes.

By eliminating the following eight energy drains from your life, you will be amazed how quickly new energy enters your life. You feel alive and energized to begin creating a life you want and love!

Eight Energy Drains to Elimate:

1. Worry
Many people put a great deal of energy towards this. What does it achieve? Normally strain, stress anxiety and discomfort. Write down your worry situations on paper. If there are actions to take, take them. You will usually find the things worrying you are outside of your control. So let go of the worrying, and use that energy to respond positively, creatively and effectively to the things that do happen in your life!

2. Procrastination
When you procrastinate about something, energy is going into maintaining a wall in your mind that protects you from the discomfort of not taking the action. Yet that wall usually doesn't always block out all the discomfort, now, does it? Do yourself a favor- take the action now, or cross it off your list for good. Living in limbo is an energy waster.

3. Poor Eating Habits
Certain foods have a costs when we eat them. You know what these foods are for you. Keep in mind, when you eat these types of foods, there are energy costs. Think about where could that energy be better spent in your life? Adding protein, fruits and vegetables to your diet will increase your energy. Eliminating sugar, yeast, saturated fats, chocolate and caffeine will increase your energy levels. You will also find that you are sleeping better and enjoying life more because you feel better!

4. Fear and Anxiety
Fear and Anxiety cause pain. They have the greatest impact on your energy since they drain your emotional, physical, psychological, social, intellectual and spiritual energy. Both are related to worry, where you are projecting bad things into the future and then feeling pain from them. Fear prevents you from taking creative, effective action.

Recognizing that this is an energy drain helps you shift your perspective to focus on achieving a feeling of peace, comfort, safety and security. This action alone puts you in a positive frame of mind where you can think clearly and arrive at solutions that will work to ease your fear and anxiety. They key is to identify where the fear/anxiety are coming from, then you can work on ridding them from your life. When you do, you will feel a surge of energy throughout your body. It's invigorating!

5. "Negative" People & Negative Thinking
People that are always complaining about how terrible things are have a negative aura that surrounds them. They send off negative energy. If you spend enough time around negative people you will be drained too! Surround yourself with people that ignite the energy within you!

Negative thinking is another energy drain. Positive thinking, accepting your situation and/or taking action to make things different will free up so much energy.

6. "Helping" Too Much
Giving is a wonderful virtue but the problem comes when we start giving more than we have to give. Some people wear themselves out this way, or end up getting too involved in the emotional welfare of others, when they aren't taking care of their own emotional welfare. When you are helping in the right way, it feels great and leaves you energized. If your "helping" activities seem like a chore, or just too draining, you may want to assess if you are trying to give more than you have to give.

7. Not saying "No"
There are many places in our lives where we could be saying NO or setting a boundary. Such as going to social events you really don't have the time for, working extra hours for no extra pay. Things you really aren't enjoying! These types of things take energy to participate in. There is also the energy drain of doing something you don't want to do. Learn to say no. It's good for your health.

8. Lack of Exercise and Not enough Sleep
A small bit of exercise can make you feel recharged, full of energy, and ready to take on the ups and downs of life. Not exercising tends to slow you down and makes you feel even more tired,everything you do will take just that much longer. You'll be a little less creative, and everything you do will use up more energy than it needs to. Put exercise back as a regular part of your life to get that energy flowing! Same goes for sleep. A good restful night of at least 7 hours of sleep will add tons of energy to your mind and body. Sleep is the time when the body repairs itself.

Start mining for your energy, use it wisely and you will soon be living a life you love!
Consider what great minds say about energy:

"All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination. Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth." Napoleon Hill