What drains you? Â What are those things that zap your energy and at the same time you spend a lot of energy trying to avoid?
Here are some of the things on my list:
- unpaid bills
- a messy desk, well a messy anything really (storage area in basement, laundry room, play areas for the children)
- laundry: doing and putting away
- unfinished tasks like emails that need my attention, books that need reading, and plans that need to be established
- meal planning
I don’t get everything done in day, but I do get some things done in day.  I consider my days to be good when I have spent most of the time with the kids, accomplished  a little of this, a little of that, while still getting in my exercise time and having a “light” feeling throughout the day. Most of the time this happens for parts of days, but generally not for whole days.
I am still in training for balancing my life, shifting my perspective and settings this up for me accept the fact that a day can be ENTIRELY good.  The challenge is with the “weights” in the back of my head that bring me down. See above list. Argh.  That stuff is never going to go away…so now what? This is a the big question if you are wanting to live in the present moment with joy, be wherever it is you are, and start really moving towards your dreams.
Well, this is one of the aspects of life that gets addressed in the coaching I do.  It is true that these things don’t go away.  That is not in my realm of expertise, nor should it be.  However, when the things on your list drain your energy to the extent that you do not experience joy in the moment, or just hanging out with your kids, your friends, your partner, yourself  without being distracted, or you feel frantic getting it all done holding off any joy until that magical day that only lives at the end of a rainbow, you just might want to consider where it is you want to be putting your energy.
The first step is to not ignore the list, name it and know it. Â What are the items on your list? Sometime when we confront the “monster” it really isn’t as bad as it seems, but the known is always better than the unknown. Â After you are clear about what your energy drains, the next thing to consider is how you are going to address them. Â For instance, I might a lot a certain amount of time to a task knowing it might not get done, but at least I did a little bit. Or I do certain things on certain days. Â I plan ahead for larger projects, like cleaning out the basement. Â If something takes 2 minutes or less, I just do it. Â I make lists and cross things out as I do them. Â I also have to be aware that my energy drains change, and I so I know to check in with myself about that as well.
I am sure all of you can think of your own strategies that you already use or new ones that make sense for what you need to get done. Â The most important habit that I have developed in the spirit of keeping my energy drains in their place is a gratitude practice. Â I practice being thankful, either by saying it aloud or adding the appreciation to my ongoing list. Â Practicing gratitude helps me to stay present, it helps me to be aware of what is going on outside of my head, helps keep me resilient to life’s surprises and it brings me great joy to know that my list can never be exhausted.
I am so thankful for:
- my family
- my home
- my friends
- my church
- my neighborhood
- my local coop
- my health
- being able to walk my son to school
- new people in my life
- the chance to show up
- my pets
- knowing how to knit
- being able to swim a few days a week
- for other people crossing my path
- laughter
- and you.
Related articles
Twitter