Is your energy managing you or are you managing your energy?

Contained below is a quick and easy reflective activity for you to see how you many supercharge your energy.

So how much energy do you have? I don’t necessarily mean the physical energy that we as a society often refer to when we say we are tired… Your life force energy.

For a while my energy levels resembled that of an iPhone 6 which wouldn’t hold charge above 37%. I’d drop from 12% to 0% in seconds and find myself overwhelmed in situations that would not otherwise bother me.

With depleted energy levels, my tolerance for life’s curve balls would deviate significantly from their ‘normal’ and I would find myself easily frustrated or irritated.

The lack of flexibility for change as a result of low energy was a sign that something within me needed to change.

Enter stage left: energy management.

Sleeping to recharge:

At a point in time, my only tool to troubleshoot low energy levels was to sleep more on a weekend in the hope I would feel better. 

It turns out there is much more to replenishing our energy levels than what sleep and conscious rest can provide. 

In looking to manage my energy levels more efficiently, I stumbled upon the concept of the ‘Four Bodies’. In the case I describe, sleep was replenishing my physical body, however my emotional, mental and spiritual bodies remained depleted.

Self-reflection exercise: energy in and energy out

Before touching on the concept of the Four Bodies, there is an exercise I have found particularly helpful at first bringing an awareness to my ‘energy battery’ which you may wish to follow along with.

On a sheet of paper, title the left hand side with a + and the right hand side with a -. 

Spend a few minutes listing what in the past month has energised and depleted your energy.

With an awareness of your current circumstance you may begin to see immediate imbalances between each side. If majority of your time is used on activities which take up more energy than you receive for long periods of time, it is likely you will begin to feel tired and show signs of burn out.

‘The Four Bodies’

This concept depicts the idea of four separate entities within us: the physical body, emotional body, mental body and spiritual body.

By sufficiently addressing the needs of each different body, we are able to find balance in life and are more adaptable to change.

Researching more into each of the four bodies and their needs, has allowed me to collate a routine which sufficiently charges me up by meeting my own needs and leading to conscious emotional fulfillment.

How balanced are your bodies? 

How are you charging your battery?

Take a look back at your list. 

Is there a habit or routine you can implement for 25 minutes each day which energises you?

Here are some ideas which charge me up:

• Gratitude and appreciation for the life I have and the people within it
• Journalling
• Dancing!!! Moving how feels good.
• Reciting affirmations
• Singing or humming
• Eating nutrient dense foods, cooking from fresh with love
• Drinking enough water
• Stretching out my body
• Learning new information
• Sitting down to meditate
• Practicing breathwork
• Reading non-fiction and poetry
• Watching comedy
• Spending precious time with family and friends 
• Walking 
• Listening to music
• Painting and general crafting
• A bath
• Being in nature
• Philosophical conversations
• Making freshly squeezed juices

The great thing about charging yourself up is that you can start small and simple. For example, taking five minutes of quiet to myself with a drink before starting the day has often given me the headspace I needed for busy days. 

How are you using your battery?

For those activities and responsibilities which are within your realm of control, consider:

• What absolutely needs to happen today / this week / this month?
• Are there any non-essentials that can be postponed?
• Can you ask for help from others?
• Is there anything that can be cancelled?
• Are there any boundaries you can introduce to limit the time on those which use a lot your energy? E.g. checking the news once a day rather than multiple times, switching notifications off for specific apps on your phone, limiting the time you spend with certain people.

What limits can you introduce to activities which use up your precious energy?

Charge up your battery:

The great thing about taking a conscious approach to managing your energy levels is that it is completely personal – there is no right or wrong answer.

10 minutes of meditation may be just enough to charge you up for the day with little else needed. For others it may be half an hour of journalling, a walk outside and time spent socialising in the evening.

Whilst one routine or method of ‘charging’ may be appropriate at one time in your life, life is not linear. Just when you thought you found a balance, there may be something that comes along and knocks you off your feet, that is part of the fun of the journey called life!

One golden nugget I always come back to from therapy, is to ensure that my self-care is relative, equal and if not more, than the level of obstacles and challenges that I am up against. Life is as ever-changing and evolving as we are: allow yourself to reflect upon what you’re up against so you can prepare yourself. 

Seek to find balance rather than perfection. Know that if you find yourself out of balance you can come back to this exercise and begin to prioritise even one activity a day, a week or a month to charge yourself up. 

How will you supercharge yourself? 

Which energising activities could you not live without?

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