Collective Genius!

Adrenaline junkie?

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It's taken me a while to write about the topic of staying energised. Why? Perhaps it's a little too close for comfort.

I want to talk about energy and fear. How you can set yourself to pursue goals with extreme energy when they are the wrong goals all the time.

Surely you can't find the energy to do what you hate or what is wrong for you? Well yes, actually you can. If what takes you down into destruction is connected with status, with some kind of comfort, with money, with familiarity, with duty, with whatever pushes your buttons, then yes for a long, long time you can work up the energy to follow the wrong path and take a perverse enjoyment in it.

It's the quality of energy that you want to watch out for. If you find yourself getting by on minimal sleep, lots of coffee and other stimulants, if you manufacture adrenaline by cutting deadlines to the wire, then no matter how good you feel about it, that's false energy and you're spending time on something that isn't worthy of you. No matter how much praise you get, how much recognition, how much of a buzz, just find the strength to walk away.

I believe the reason we waste so much energy is to do with fear: of reaching fulfilment, of allowing ourselves to be happy, of what other people will think, that we won't be good enough. We need to uncover that fear; bring what you are afraid of out into the light and turn to look at it directly, face on.

So what does true energy feel like? Like not having to try. Like flying. You'll recognise it when you follow what's real for you. You'll still have to nourish yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to sustain your energy. You may need to try several times to turn away from what's wrong but familiar and tempting. I'm not there yet, but I promise to keep trying if you will.

Teresa Marshall

Squeeze in next to someone, arm to arm

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(When I read the topic for this month, this earlier post of mine is the first thing that came to mind. After pondering it all month, I still think that this is my most honest answer to the question of where I get energized. So, though this has been posted in another form over a year ago, I offer it here in the hopes that it might energize others.)

“In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”–Albert Schweitzer

77-year-old Jungian analyst and author Marion Woodman captured my imagination with a recent address on “Women, Power and Soul.” She spoke slowly and quietly and clearly about the “loss of the feminine principle” in the world; she wasn’t talking about gender, but of “an energy in the world.” “If patriarchy is a power principle that has become a parody of itself,” she said, “what we need more of is the feminine principle: the receptive side, the soul, the heart side.”

“The feminine is the energy that holds presence, the deeper and slower aspect of ourselves” she said. The feminine looks for relatedness, asking “where are we alike?,” “how can we connect?,” “can you see me?,” and (perhaps most importantly), “do you care whether you see me or not?”

Quantum physics tells us, she warned, that “the presence watching an experiment changes the experiment.” Or, as physicist Erwin Schroedinger put it, the act of observing affects what is observed.

“What an awesome responsibility,” she gently noted.

During a stay in India, Marion became very sick with dysentery, captive in her hotel room for weeks. Finally, desperate to escape the room, she gingerly made her way to the hotel foyer one afternoon to sit and write a letter to her husband. Sitting quite near the end of a long, empty couch, she began to write.   

Soon, though there were many other seats available, a very large brown woman came and squeezed between Marion and the end of the couch, so close to her that their arms were touching, so close that it made it difficult, even impossible, for Marion to write.

Marion scooted away, angry at the invasion of her space. The woman scooted closer, pushing up against her. “Every time I moved, she moved, until,” as Marion described it, "we ended up at the other end of the couch."

Once she stopped moving away, Marion realized what a nice, big, warm arm the woman had, and so they sat, a thin bird of a pale white woman and a big brown woman, arm to arm. Not sharing a common language, they couldn’t speak, but sat in silence.

Marion gave in to the broad warm arm, the presence of the other, and relaxed into her. The next day, she went again to the hotel foyer to write. And, again, the woman came and sat touching her, next to her, silently. And the third day. And the fourth day, as Marion's health improved. This couch dance continued for a week. And one day, a man appeared as the two women finished their silent, warm-armed vigil.

“You’re all right now. My wife won’t come back tomorrow,” he said to Marion, nodding toward her couch compatriot. “Your wife?,” she thought to herself, startled at his intimacy. “Why is she here in the first place?”

She was unprepared for his quiet and simple answer. “I saw you were dying and I sent her to sit with you. I knew the warmth of her body would bring you back to life,” he said.

It took a moment for the magnitude of his message and the enormity of what these two strangers had done for her to sink in. “She did save my life,” Marion said quietly in recounting the story. “That this woman would take the time to sit with me…and, most importantly, that I could receive it…” That,” said Marion Woodman, “is relatedness.”

That is what it means to hold presence for others.

That is where I get my energy. Squeeze in beside someone so you are arm to arm. Stop moving away.

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Patti Digh, 37days

 

How to Light the Inner Fire

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What special secret can a lazy soul use to motivate him/herself?

Here is how I do it.

Needless to say, my way is based on avoiding work. Needless to say, my way emphasizes fun, joy, and ease. And needless to say, my way “plays” like a charm.

The key for me is to start with a goal or vision for a project that inspires me from many different perspectives, each perspective addressing one or more of my passions.

I come up with my goals in a most lazy and relaxed manner. In fact, relaxation is THE essential ingredient for this process to be successful. No sweat, no effort, no strain, no pain, no pressure, no aggravation, no commute, no bosses, no deadlines, no distractions, no work; just relaxing with a quiet desire to have a new goal. Then I play with my imagination throughout the day, every day.

Major overhauls of an idea can be done effortlessly from a hammock. A million starts and restarts can be done on a leisurely walk without generating a bead of perspiration. Adjusting, tweaking and refining the goal can be done without any elbow grease. An idea can be examined from many different angles without flexing any muscle fiber. No money or effort or manpower ever need be committed in this entire process.

I simply enjoy the dreams and I don’t get impatient and try to force anything.

The closer I get to creating a pretty good idea of what I want to accomplish, the more my juices flow. When those juices reach a critical mass, the next step is automatic. I then can’t wait to get started putting the pieces together.

The formula is simple: When the goal is inspiring, the activity that is required to fulfill the goal becomes irresistible.

Now comes the coolest part.

In every case, I have found that both the vision of my goal and the activity needed to realize it naturally attract people who have sophisticated skills. These folks just want to join the fun. When you add creative, talented people to the mix, the project becomes even more fun and alluring, which attracts more talent which makes it more fun which attracts more people and so on. The whole thing becomes a delicious cycle.

And before you know it, my “job” reverts back to where I started – relaxing. And dreaming of ways to make it even bigger and better. 

Only this time I do a lot of cheerleading too. 

www.lazyway.net

Building and Sustaining Your Energy Reservoir

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A friend wanted to know why I named my blog Engage, Energize, Evolve. Simple, I said. It is what I want my blog to do for my readers. And with that began my own journey towards building and sustaining energy.

 

Here are some thoughts on how I believe one can do so:

 

 

Find the bigger picture. “Impact” has a huge bearing on energy. You would be instantly lifted if you know what impact your job has or how your actions have a bearing on so many other things. And if you are not, then you probably are in the wrong job. Most of us do not work in silos, and therefore it is important to find out how our work aligns to that of others and the organizational context at large. Knowing that someone or something depends on you doing your job well gives you a sense of connect, enhances the worth of your job, and energizes you towards giving it your best shot.

 

Get involved. Life is too short to wait for something to come to you. If you find something interesting happening around you and want to be a part of it, get involved. Seek information, read up, update yourself, and participate. Whether it is volunteer work, whether it is a new initiative in your company, whether it is fulfilling a long cherished desire, there is only one way to deal with it – by jumping into it. Save your energy for “doing” the thing, rather than “analyzing” whether you should be doing it.

 

Create your own job description. This is related to the previous point on finding the bigger picture. A colleague and I both were part of the resourcing function in the same organization. She described her job as “helping people build their careers”; I called mine “a heady series of transactions”. Yes, she probably had the bigger picture. I didn’t. And her big picture energized her. Ask yourself how you describe your job. And see if it has any bearing on your engagement level. Yes, changing your job description is not a panacea for job dissatisfaction, but it can be a powerful tool for diagnosing energy sappers and eliminating them. For example, if I was overburdened by the transactions in recruitment, could I look at a way of minimizing them, probably by automation, so that I could focus on the “real” thrills like job person fit, new hire attrition, and the likes?

 

Figure out what you want your epitaph to contain. This is, in effect metaphor for what you really value in life and what you would like to be remembered for. In the process of doing so, you will discover that there are only a few things that deserve your time, attention and energy, and rightfully so. Devote your energies to these things, and withdraw from or spend less time doing those things which won’t matter in the final analysis. Think about it. If all you want is to be remembered as a good father, is it worth accepting that plum assignment which takes you away from your family? Life is all about the choices we make on what is dear to us. And we must have this sorted out if we want to expend our energies constructively.

 

Operate from your strengths. Your weaknesses need to be worked on to the extent that they don’t have a debilitating impact on your performance. Any change they bring about is more incremental than transformational – this is my firm belief. Operating from weaknesses also puts you in a defending position, which again is an energy sapper. Your strengths are what give you your competitive edge and help you achieve newer heights. Find out what you are good at, and create opportunities to keep doing more of it.

 

 

Anuradha Ganapathy

 

Energy is finite, but flexible

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In science, the law of the conservation of energy says that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, it can only change form. I've really tried to take that to heart as a personal law. Every day I wake up with the same amount of energy, a finite amount that gets budgeted throughout my day.

 

When I am rested, the energy manifests as spirited optimism, allowing me to cut through a to-do list, teach half a dozen topics in ten minutes, and save the world without breaking a sweat. When I am tired, the energy works to slow me down, make me think, rest, and meditate. It's the same level of energy as when I seem to have boundless energy, but it's going toward recuperating my spirit. It feels like I have less energy because I can't see the ways I'm expending it.

 

There are naturally times when I need to redirect my energy from revitalizing me to allowing me to get through those things that need doing. Those are the times when I take a walk or dance, light a scented candle, or even just pour myself a cup of chai. It's the littlest things that can shift my energy back into my control.

 

Eventually, I'm going to remember this finite amount of energy when six people make impassioned requests for my time.

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Rebecca Thomas

Work within, not against, your energy pattern

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There's a peacefulness in the early morning hours, a sweet way to ease into the day. A simple energy comes from watching the sun stretch and rise while listening for the birds to awaken and start their daily routine.

Or so I hear.

I've never been able to adopt the habit used by so many productive people I admire: getting up really early. Like 3:30 or 4:30 a.m. It makes my normal rising at 6 a.m. look like when my son sleeps in until the crack of noon. Time's a wastin'.

So I decided to try it. If I was to be early to rise, then I must be early to bed. The first night, I hit the sack before it was completely dark out. And I awoke at my usual time. I tried it again the next night. Same result. And the next night. Still not up in the pre-dawn. Where I usually sleep 6 hours a night, I was suddenly getting 8 or 9 or more.

Even though I wasn't starting the day any earlier, I discovered that I had much more energy during my usual hours. I had been in a bit of an energy slump and my solution was to muscle my way through, force myself to do more and more and more in an effort to jumpstart energy via momentum, all the while chiding myself for being lazy.

It turns out that I wasn't lazy. I was tired.

A wise adviser once told me that I should work within my energy patterns, not against them. It sounds pretty obvious but it's embarrassing how often I forget that. When my energy is waning, my mind and body are trying to get a message through to my productivity center. If there is a time to create, so must there also be a time to rest and replenish my resources for the next round.

So often when we're in an energy slump, we look for reasons why we shouldn't be. But the slump can be a way of our minds and bodies telling us to take a break. It's OK to slow down for awhile. Your passion will still be there when your energy returns.

How do I know passion will always be there?

Here's the fastest anti-energy slumpecizer I know: Imagine how your life would feel without the thing you're passionate about.

When I do that, all the energy drains out of me. I don't feel like doing anything, there's no point, everything is meaningless, I don't know why I'm here, I'm lost and useless. It's so easy to pick up my passion again because, it in itself, makes me feel worthwhile and alive and energized.

Then I can rest and relax, knowing full well I'll be back at my life-fulfilling work soon enough.

Gretchen Stahlman: The Year in Red

Who Needs Energy Drinks??

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This month's topic is getting/staying energized. I admit that I have challenges with this at times, both physically and mentally, but typically, I'm pretty energetic. I work at home when I'm not at client sites and I sit in my office chair all day. As you might imagine, I sometimes get lulled into feeling sluggish as a result. When that happens and I feel my energy waning, I will run up and down the stairs a few times or do some push-ups to get my blood moving and oxygenate my brain. Also, leaving the house to run an errand is a good change of scenery and will sometimes be enough of a change to spark my energy. However, there are some times when, rather than try to force myself to focus when I simply can't, I'll take a quick break and lie down for a very short nap. It has to be very short, otherwise I'll be in "nap funk" all day long.

As for staying energized in a broader, more general sense, one of the best things for my energy is to keep things in perspective. I remind myself of all the incredible abundance I have, how fortunate I am to have my friends, my health, my wonderful husband, a home to live in, a paid-for car, etc... this exercise in perspective positively renews me and gets me out of that "why bother" mindset that every once in a while creeps in on all of us.

Another way I keep my energy up is to contact someone I KNOW will be uplifting. Not that I rely on others to make my mood, because I don't... but there are just some people that when you call them, you know they'll be so upbeat that you'll catch their vibe and shift your mindset. This is when it comes in handy to have a good read on your friends so you pick the ones that will help boost your energy and not drain it!

Monica Ricci: Your Life. Organized.

August 2006 topic: Staying energized

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Your dreams aren't going to become reality with a snap of your fingers. It's takes time and persistent, consistent effort. And persistent, consistent effort takes energy.

Which brings us to the topic of this month's Collective Genius! blog - staying energized.

Some questions to get your thoughts flowing...

* What helps you maintain your energy?
* What drains your energy?
* What habits create energy? What habits deplete energy?
* How do you feed your energy mentally?
* How do you feed your energy physically?
* How do you feed your energy spiritually?
* What tips do you have for energizing when you feel your energy sagging?
* What is your favorite energy "quick fix?"

As always, this is just a list to prime the pump. Feel free to take whatever relevant tangent comes to mind.

I'm looking forward to it!