Last week my post Getting Energized was about my learning to appreciate that I am not a people person and recognizing that this is OK!. It also got me thinking, what else gets me energized or saps my energy. Everybody is different and what may give me a burst of oomph my drain you to the point of exhausted tears.
I am sharing my thoughts so perhaps you will take a few minutes to think about yourself. Understanding what makes you feel like you can take on any challenge vs what makes you wish you hadn’t gotten out of bed can certainly help each of us increase our personal happiness. And for those of you who have been reading my blog – I am all about increasing happiness!
For me, most shopping is an energy sucker, especially shopping to “just look around”. If I don’t have anything to buy, I have no desire to be in a store. Shopping with others is worse. I minimize the negative impact shopping has on me by doing the bulk of my shopping alone. There is something to be said for controlling the situation that is uncomfortable. My holiday shopping is done primarily on-line. I give a great big thanks to the world wide web!!!
I find standing to wait on line draining.
You know that feeling when you ate too much and your stomach is about to explode? I hate that feeling. Overeating and eating junk food are tiring. One beer is relaxing, two beers are tiring. Why can’t I remember that before I pop open a second?
I find meetings of any kind to sap my energy big time. A few years ago a new rehab manager started to work at our facility. There is always a weekly meeting to discuss patients and we would sit around a large table and review progress and barriers for each person. I would sit quietly and try to catch up on all of my paperwork. I would offer my input when I had any but mostly just do my own thing. The meeting was always too long and typically not very productive (in my humble opinion). By the second week with my new boss, she asked me how I could get any work done in that environment. I just laughed and said I was good at ignoring. By the third week, she could see me getting ansty and told me I could leave!
Too many activities planned, or that simply happen in 1 day drains me bad. I like to have maybe one thing planned for a weekend. When I have too many activities planned, I get anxious and worried that I won’t get my precious downtime. I get nervous when I hear, I have a quick errand at such and such store after we just had a nice, relaxing walk in the woods. One quick errand leads to another and another and the next thing I know I have been shopping for an hour. All of the benefits of the walk have been eradicated by the evil strip mall.
One of the benefits of getting older is you start to figure stuff out! I like to think I am figuring out me! Knowing the types of things that drain me of precious energy is one thing but learning how to speak up for myself to actually reduce the amount of time I spend doing them is another. I am getting better at this and that translates into less and less energy zapping activities I do during the week.
Woot, Woot!!!!!! As you reduce the energy zapping activities, you will have time to figure out what gives you an energy boost.
Personally, I love not having to set an alarm in order to wake up. I generally get up early even when I don’t have to. Allowing my body to wake up at its own pace is energizing. I still set an alarm because I hate to be late but I usually wake up without it which translates to a better start to my day.
A warm/hot shower is energizing. I often take a shower in between my yardwork jobs. It not only removes the dirt, it gives me a burst of energy.
A walk in the woods, a jump in the lake, anything to get the blood flowing!
A change of scenery when I am getting sleepy or bored.
Stretching when I feel my muscles need it; which is like all of the time. Yes, this is what happens when you hit the BIG 50!
For me, it all boils down to flexibility. I love having control over my schedule because it allows me to do the activities I find energizing. A typical schedule for me is do 4 hours of yard work, jump in the shower, eat lunch, stretch, relax for an hour and then go do another few hours of work. I find that at the end of my day, I can still function, and that is a good thing!
If you haven’t spent any time recently thinking about what you find energizing vs exhausting, I encourage you to do so! You can use what you learn to create more happiness for yourself, and who doesn’t want that?
I would love to hear about what energizes and/or exhausts you. Let me know in the comment section!
Lake Girl