Why am I full of energy one day and completely down the next? Do I really know what activities excite me, rejuvenate me, and energize me when I engage in them? Every one of us has a reliable and repeatable source of energy that we can tap into through our energy trigger. Some of us know exactly what it is and others don’t. We have to reflect on our favorite activities to identify our energy trigger. Is it being in nature? Is it music? Is it reading? Tennis? Good conversation? Good food?

Many of us are unaware as to what triggers our energy. If we are unaware of our energy trigger, we are dependent on weather, food, and unexpected surprises to cheer us up and energize us. It is like trusting the wind to take us to Seattle instead of purposeful navigation with motor powering our journey as in the example above. As we become more aware and participate more in activities that energize us, we begin to see an increase in our energy on a daily basis. By identifying activities or practices that reliably rejuvenate us, we reduce chances of burnout. Energy is more closely connected to our emotions and passion. Based on research work on emotional intelligence, it is found that emotional energy and passion are two factors that distinguish successful people.

By the way, when I mention energy trigger, I really am looking for the triggering mechanism. For example, when my laptop battery is drained, I plug the power adapter into a wall socket. Once I plug it in, the battery starts charging and continues to charge until it is full. My role is to plug it in. When we are truly connected to our energy source, our immunity goes up, time moves quickly, we get into a ‘flow state’ and feel happy and relaxed. It has more to do with aligning our social persona with our authentic persona. In the spiritual literature, it is often said that we have an essential self or an authentic self (that acts) and a critical or social self (that criticizes). In his classic book Inner Game of Tennis, Tim Gallwey popularized the concepts of Self 1 and Self 2 – Self 1 being the acting self and Self 2 being the critical self. When our critical or judgmental self is aligned with our acting self, that alignment triggers our energy and passion. Operating more and more in alignment between our two selves is what makes us tap into our natural genius.

Alarm System

Question 4: What kinds of activities, mindsets, and processes drain my energy? What kind of Alarm System do I have to catch myself before I drain completely?

We all get exhausted at the end of the day and that is understandable. Weather, work, thinking, and stress – all of them can drain our energy. But sometimes, we lose our energy at a faster pace and if we don’t catch ourselves, we might do such things as get upset with others, snap at people, become impatient with ourselves, and make poor decisions. These are preventable energy drains and we have to learn to identify signals from our body that let us know that we are getting into a danger zone. How can we recognize when our energy is draining faster than usual?

Paying attention to our breathing, and body sensations (such as sudden heat, cold, dryness of mouth and tension in our neck or shoulders) help us identify times when we are losing energy faster than usual. We could use body sensations and breath patterns as alarm signals and by paying attention, we might identify the source of our energy drain and develop self-control, expand self-awareness and increase sensitivity to what is going on inside our body/mind and outside in our environment. People who pay regular attention to such alarm systems reported a shift in the quality of their communication and decision making, increased effectiveness in working with others, and an overall sense of accomplishment.

What is the logic behind our energy drain? When our social self is misaligned with our authentic self, our energy drains faster than usual. The more mis-match there is between our two selves, the more is the energy drain. By becoming aware of our body sensations and breath patterns, we shift attention away from our unconscious patterns and can consciously pay more attention to our aspirations (our North Star) and limitations (our Core Incompetence). Creating an alarm system is also critical for any meaningful change in behavior as it has more to do with the body and breath and less to do with our minds. That is why the more heady we are, the more attention we have to pay to our actions and behavior as opposed to our words and minds. Paying attention to our energy patterns, breath cycles, fears and trepidations allow us to be more effective in ‘walking our talk’.

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