Energy
Pillar to a Prosperous Life
Energy is the source of creativity. Have you
ever seen a motivational speaker who did not have energy? It is
difficult to motivate without energy and passion. Motivational
speakers use energy to connect to others and move people to action, for
two reasons:
- Energy attracts. Like-minded energy is like a magnet,
it attracts similar energy while opposite-minded energy repels.
The key is to determine where you
have energy or lack energy in your life. First, look at your
job. Do
you just try to make it to the end of the day? Or,
do you have passion and energy for your work, constantly
giving 110%? Guess who the boss will reward and promote.
Next, look at your leisure activities. Are they filled with
energy or sitting in front of the television? I myself just
went through a few months where I was watching a lot of television. Simultaneously,
I noticed my energy falling away. Where in your
life do you have low energy?
- Energy creates. Why do people go to motivational
speakers? They want to create change in their lives
and tap into the speaker's and group's energy
to create these changes.
Think about what you want to be different in your life. What
energy have you put towards this change? Have you given
100% energy? If not, I would
look at your beliefs about the change. For example, do
you believe that things can change and that you deserve
the change? These
negative beliefs are called resistance. They stop the flow
of energy and block the change. I will talk about this
more in the next section.
Newton's 1st law of motion states that an object
at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to
stay
in
motion. Thus,
if you feel that your life is getting stale, then consider what energy
you are putting towards getting your life in motion? It
will take energy.
So how do I create energy?
It is not about creating energy, per se. Energy is already all
around us: in the food we eat, in our friends, in the community, and
in the air that
we breath. It is deciding to use the energy that we already have
and selecting the right kind of energy, such as avoiding foods that
will zap
our energy (fatty foods) and people who always bring us down (negative
people). It
is also about magnifying the energy around us and being persistent because
energy is measured
by intensity and duration. So, the more we magnify our energy
and keep it going, the more powerful we will be. Using
energy is a four-step process:
- The first step in tapping into this energy is empowerment. It
is deciding that you are willing and capable of making the change you
desire. This is about believing that you deserve the change.
- The second step is being proactive. This
will not come from a handout from someone else. It
is about you being proactive and taking the first step. And
if someone wants to help you, they can. Yet, a helping hand
will not be useful if you do not take the first step
yourself.
- The third step is to measure your energy. As mentioned above,
energy is measured by intensity and duration. When
you decide to make a change, the decision can be low intensity ("I
may be able to change", "I will try to change"), or
high intensity ("I am fired up, and this will happen"). Duration
is measured by persistence. Will
you give up at the first sign that the change
may not work? If
so, your energy is very low and the change will probably not happen.
Edison created the lightbulb by being
persistent and knowing that it could take
1,000 attempts before he found the way.
- The fourth step is to focus your energy. Sometimes
in life we follow our hunches and do not really know where we
will end up. That is fine. Yet, if you end up going in
100 different directions, you may not end up anywhere. It is
important to trust your instincts and see where they take you, however
make sure that
your energy is focused on moving ahead and not endlessly meandering.
So how is your energy? Do you go around
life dejected, waiting for things to get better? Or, do you
have a "can-do" attitude even if it means failing a few times to get
to where
you
want to go?
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