Operating at full capacity

It’s Monday morning. Norm and his wife Gina are preparing for work. Gina is a Real Estate Broker and Norm is a business executive. Their morning routines completed, they stand before their respective wardrobes going through the clothing selection process. Within moments, Norm is dressed and exits the walk-in closet, and prepares to leave.

As he finalizes his preparations to leave, Gina seeks his opinion on her outfit. “Does this make me look fat? Do my earrings match my necklace? Do you think this is too formal for the meeting this morning?” Such questions, repeated daily, drain energy units like car lights left on overnight drain the battery.

Let’s say that you are given 100 units of daily energy. That is your base. Your daily habits will either drain the battery and reduce its total capacity or they can recharge to full capacity and increase it with repeated practice. When your battery is fully charged (100 units), you welcome challenges, find creative ways to problem-solve, and minimize stress. 

When your batteries are low, you are problem-based, stress and fatigue increase, and life seems a constant battle. Instead of going to work on Monday recharged, prepared, and excited to live purposefully, the hours drag on, and getting your battery jump started becomes a regular occurrence.

With time, the battery-low indicator light manifests in anger, criticism, sarcasm, and playing in the Drama Triangle, taking turns with the various roles of victim, persecutor, or rescuer. Using Gina as an example, making wardrobe choices in the morning can be draining. We each spend unnecessary energy by not preplanning the important and the unimportant decisions.

Battery suckers come in all shapes and sizes. Eating decisions, feeling guilty of not exercising, lack of consistent sleep, and failed interpersonal relationships are examples. What and when we eat, how and when we exercise, and our sleep routine impact our energy resources. Perhaps one of the strongest battery suckers in life is the constant search for the three A’s (affirmation, affection, and approval). It is being nice at the expense of personal boundaries, moral integrity, and self-respect. 

Mastering the little things in life moves us from Busy to Productive (B to P). Being busy is experiencing constant motion without direction or effectivity. Picture a cascade of water flowing down a hillside. The power behind such a mass of water diminishes if not harnessed. Assuming the water is funneled into a chute, the power behind the water experiences a multiplier effect because it is narrowly channeled.

So it is with small habits that create a healthy habitat when based on principles. Sleep habits allow one to have sufficient energy during the day, lose weight, focus and reduce anxiety and chronic pain. Planning regular intervals to rejuvenate your personal battery and deliberately practice your trade and/or passion, compound into a flow in life.

It starts with a singular focus. What is ONE thing you can do today, that by so doing, would get you closer to your weekly goal? What is ONE thing that you could do this week, that by so doing, would get you closer to your monthly goal?

Take your energy and focus it on that ONE thing.

Cheers!