We tend to evaluate activities by what they accomplish or whether they are enjoyable or comfortable. A more nuanced question is: Did doing ‘x’ leave me with more energy or less energy? Did it enlarge my capacity or diminish it? Less energy, especially in the short run, is not necessarily bad: a good work out, finishing a challenging but productive day all leave us tired yet satisfied and enriched. It is when something, some environment, some interaction or person drains our energy to no good purpose that alarm bells should ring.
Think of energy as a form of psychological or emotional capital. Energy is contagious, and energy compounds. Enthusiasm sparks effort, effort generates progress, progress builds confidence, and confidence fuels further enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the reverse is equally true. More subtly, learn to distinguish energy expenditure from energy investment: Initiating difficult conversation, tackling procrastination may be initially uncomfortable yet yield long term benefits far in excess of the original energy utilized.
Energy gains can be reciprocal: our energy feeds and builds others, and vice versa, creating a wonderful upward spiral. Unfortunately, the reverse is true: attitudes ARE contagious and bad ones can spread like wildfire, one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel!
Seek out environments and situations that energize, support, and build you up; surround yourself with a cohort that will challenge and inspire you.
Closing Quotes:
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” – Proverbs 13:20, KJV
“Invest your energy where it grows; conserve it where it doesn’t. Be a net creator of energy—in yourself, in others, and in the world around you.” – ChatGPT
“All human beings flourish in the presence of positive energy and languish in the presence of negative energy… the only type of energy that increases through use [is] relational energy. It’s the type of energy that’s exchanged between individuals and their interactions.” – Kim Cameron, University of Michigan, ‘Positively Energizing Leadership’
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier
Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
