Personal energy

For people who want to be more productive, there is nothing so effective as increasing their energy level. How do you do that, apart form taking drugs? First, become aware of what feeds your energy, what stimulates you, what makes you feel good and strong and happy. Avoid too much planning and rigidity, but go for these things. It may be music, it may be dance, it may be engaging stories, in talks, in books or movies. It is usually also good comapny. And it may be being alone in nature. "Into the wild." What inspires you? Go for that. It may be simply sunlight. Or the starry sky. Or Elliot's Four Quartets.

The next level is to find out what blocks your energy. We store suppressed energy in our body. How do you suppress and what do you suppress? Things we don't want to see, but we see them anyway. Things we want to say or to do, but we didn't. Everything we think and feel and sense and don't express, we suppress. An active body helps to digest that stress, but we can't release all pent-up energy by being active in things that have nothing to do with our frustrations.

The third level is to find out where we lose energy. Where are the leaks? Often we lose energy beacuse of other people: negative people, critical people, sad people, crazy people. We have to learn to stop our leaks.

The fourth level is to stop spending energy ineffectively or inefficently or both. Stop wasting your energy. What do you do that doesn't contribute to results or to happiness or both? Stop useless activities, at least diminish them. And if that even is impossible: spend as little energy on them as possible.
Spending energy wisely and effectively means results, success, recognition, satisfaction. Which feeds nicely back into increasing your energy level.

First of all, find your black holes: where your energy disappears inside yourself or outside yourself. What are infamous black holes? In ourselves: depression and confusion, impotent rage, pent-up frustration. Outside ourselves: dominating, condemning, manipulative people, especially bosses, partners and close family members. In the work place: overly rigid systems with too many rules and regulations. Or look at the interface between you and the outside world. If you are overqualified or underqualified for the job, you waste tons of energy.
And be particular about your health. But probably you are already aware of that.

In a program of improving Personal Mastery, improving your energy level is usually a good first step.
If you are energetic, and you are human and sane, you are inspiring. To inspire other people, does that increase or decrease your energy?

One last tip: you can't be always on the top of your energy. Use the low stretches for easy stuff and small stuff. Don't waste your good hours or your good days on the many trivia of everyday work and everyday life.

Accept that in growing older, your physical stamina may lessen, but that your mind may stay strong to the last.