Disclosure: I only recommend products/services I would use myself and feel might benefit you as well. This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
As I stood there watching my sweat drip to the floor trying desperately to wrap my peace fingers around my big toes and keep my legs as straight as possible during a hot yoga class, our instructor told us not to hold our heads up at all but to let them hang. She elaborated that there was no reason to hold our heads up for that pose and that the energy could be better used elsewhere.
As soon as she said that, it struck a chord with me. I then realized that it resonated so deeply because I feel it’s something I’m always trying to work on in my daily life. It’s a great lesson that is applicable in so many ways to anyone’s life. Sometimes we’re using our energy by spinning our wheels on non-value adding tasks, worrying needlessly, or doing something just because it’s become a routine for us that we don’t give a second thought to.
When we become more aware of the sources and uses of our energy, we can become more intentional about how this energy is expended.
The source of the energy drain
Many times the source of an energy drain is just part of a routine that you may not even be cognizant of. This can take many different forms as mentioned above.
One of the big ways that energy drain shows up in my daily life is through needless worrying. I will think through several hypothetical scenarios and try to solve them and, more often than not, it was unnecessary to go through all that stress and anxiety. This unfortunately has just become part of my daily routine; many times, I don’t even realize that I’m doing it, but let me tell you, it is often a big unnecessary drain of energy. While I’m working on it, I’m definitely not perfect.
Another prevalent area that I see energy drain show up in is trying to be everywhere and do everything at once. This can take many different forms both personally and professionally.
In the professional world, this might mean taking on any request that comes your way whether it’s within your scope or not. If you’re starting your own business, it might mean trying to be on all the social media platforms at once.
Outside of the professional arena, it could mean never saying “no” to plans or trying to spread yourself too thin to live up to what you think expectations are for you based on social media or society.
Finally, another sneaky energy drain is activities that are part of your daily routine that you don’t often take the time to re-think. Maybe on your commute home from work, you get frustrated that you hear the same songs on the radio every day and that fuels your impatience with the traffic. Is listening to the radio the only option? Maybe you hate making breakfast in the morning. Is there a simpler preparation or maybe preparation that can occur in advance?
You can see how easily energy drains can sneak into your life, and often in a variety of different capacities, and chances are you aren’t even realizing that there’s a drain.
Repurposing that energy
Once you realize that you have energy drains impacting your life, you can start to repurpose that energy in a more constructive and enjoyable way. This may even lead to the creation of more energy in your life fueled by joy and productivity.
You can repurpose this energy in a variety of ways. This may take the form of investing your time and energy in activities that have a higher ROI (return on investment) or allowing that energy to transform you through self-care and self-development.
Let’s dig further into this.
Maybe instead of trying to grow your business/following through all the platforms on social media where you’re constantly spinning your wheels on every platform trying to come up with original content, being responsive, and learning the latest trends, you devote your time instead to trying to reach out to make connections with real people.
Instead of taking on every task thrown your way at work, you have a discussion with your manager about what’s on your plate and explain how you can spread some attention to every task or you can place your most creative and productive energy into some of the highest priority tasks.
Tired of listening to the same songs on the radio on the commute home from work? How about listening to a Podcast or an audio book? Maybe you immerse yourself in gratitude or prayer. Maybe you research a streaming platform and get a deeper variety of listening. Once you find your jam, you’ll find your commute more enjoyable and enriching and maybe even energizing.
Committing to every social plan that comes your way? What would it look like to block out a set amount of time each day for self-restoration? Maybe this is meditation, prayer, exercise, journaling, or reading. My bet is that the energy you intentionally spend on yourself during that portion of the day will energize you for other activities throughout the day, calm any anxious emotions you may be feeling, and set you up for success to productively propel you into other parts of your life.
See how small shifts in energy usage can pay big dividends? But you still may be wondering the best way to go about this awareness.
Performing an energy audit
The best way to be more intentional about the sources and uses of your energy is awareness. This awareness can come from tuning into your feelings (both physical and emotional) throughout the day, or it can come from carving out some time to think about what your daily routine looks like and noticing what brings you joy and energy and what doesn’t.
Several months ago, my coach Rasa DiSalvo took us through an activity where we ranked the parts of our day to see what parts of our day felt the best to us and which parts gave us that icky feeling. This is basically the process that you can go through to perform an energy audit.
Think about your daily routine. You may want to focus on both a typical weekday and a typical weekend day. What feels amazing to you and what gives you the “meh” or worse yet “no no no” feeling?
Pay attention to the items that bring you the most joy and see if you can more prevalently weave those throughout your day.
Importantly, also pay attention to the latter category that does not feel amazing. Start to dig into why this doesn’t feel amazing. Is it the people? Is it the activity as a whole? Is it maybe some specific part of the activity?
Once you pinpoint what is driving that icky feeling inside of you that stems from that activity, try to really visualize the energy that you were using on the activity and see how you can repurpose that energy. Maybe you can just ditch the activity all together if it was an unnecessary part of the routine or maybe you can modify it in a way that makes it more enjoyable to you. If it’s totally necessary, maybe responsibility can be shared or outsourced. Once you figure out a gameplan, visualize that newly available energy powering you in some other part of your life.
Feel that newly found freedom, strength, and joy you’ve acquired!
If you’re interested in your own transformational journey and accelerating this process, reach out to me using the button below to book your free discovery session to see if I can support you along your journey to unlock the full potential of joy, freedom, and strength within your life.
Disclosure: I only recommend products/services I would use myself and feel might benefit you as well. This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Disclaimer: This blog should not be construed as providing, or intending to provide, professional financial, legal, psychological, or other professional advice. It is simply meant to share my experiences for those that may find them relatable and helpful.