There are days which we feel full of energy, happy, love life…and then sometimes there are days in which we may feel down, tired, depressed, or just uninspired. I think most of us would like more of days full of great energy and outlook, so what can we do? Well one thing is we need to see what in our lives is actually helping to give us that happiness, energy, positive outlook and also to see what is not. We need to become aware in our moments of positive and negative energies to see what is really influencing them. Only from that can we define what factors are important to us, and which ones we need to just let go of.

How do we do that? Well we keep an energy log/journal. Try it for a couple weeks and you may be surprised at the results. Take one page and write the word “Positive Energy” on the top and another page and write “Negative Energy”. Now for the next several days/weeks everytime you experience feeling great, write down on the postive energy page what you were doing/focusing on/experiencing that made you feel that way. Same thing on the flip side. If you are having a less energetic day/feeling sad or down then you need to write down on the negative energy page what you were focusing on/experiencing in that moment.

To start off you can also write down positive and negative emotions that you do or do not want to focus on. For example for the positive side you could have:

• Sense of Purpose/Inspiration (having a calling every day)
  
• Compassion (realizing that deep down we are all wanting the same thing in life, happiness)
• Friendship/Charity (helping others in some way)
• Appreciation/Contentment (not to be confused with lack of ambition or wanting to get things done, just don’t have your happiness dependent on needing something else in your life as you can be happy right now)

and on the negative side you could have:

• Anger
• Jealousy
• Envy
• Greed
• Feeling Alone (feeling disconnected from others)
  

Looking above at those we can try and focus on what we want in our lives, and also be able to identify things that we do not want. It’s a daily journey we all face and can get caught up in the moment, but if we can become aware of what is going on then we can take control of what happens next and turn things around.

Here’s an example of some things I have in my life that can cause positive and negative energies. I use this list to help me focus and also to help out on days where my energy may not be where it needs to be. It can be the motivating tool to point me in the right direction and turn things around.

Some of my Negative Energy Factors/Events (things that may happen that make me feel tired, less optimistic, get nothing done):

• Wasting too much time on the computer - being a person who spends time on the computer for business reasons I don’t want to get caught up in all the endless sites out there that are just distractions. The web is a big place and I need to just focus on what matters and then shut the computer off and get on with my day. Wasting long days on the computer drains my energy.
• Eating high sugar foods – I know that if I have anything with sugar (not including fruit) that I will soon have brain fog and my blood sugar with come crashing down making me want to take a nap. That’s not how I want to spend my days.
• Staying up late, not getting 8 hours sleep – I admit, I’ve always been a night person but I don’t want to stay up late anymore just because I know how crappy it will make me feel the next day. So I start to wind down around 10pm, no more computer time….have a glass of wine, watch a little TV, whatever it takes. But if I start something late at night and get my brain going again, forget it as I can stay up into the late hours. I used to think doing this was just going to lead to getting more things done, when in reality I got less done over the week because of how messed up my energy levels got. I need my 8 hours of sleep, otherwise my next day is just shot. Some may do great on less sleep, I am not one of those people.
• Worrying about the future - As a person who has worked for themself for a long time I learned one thing, worrying about the future accomplishes nothing. You could spend a whole day worried about paying bills, the economy, retirement funds, whether a business will succeed or fail, or whatever. What good does that do? I don’t worry about where the money will come from or what bills are coming up, I just focus on what steps I need to take now to make those things happen. Without taking steps now there is no way you will ever change the outcome in the future. Those who worry will not get anything done, those who focus will.
• Trying to “wing it” - Without a real vision of where I want to go or what I need to get done, I’ll just end up killing time and spinning my wheels. Real progress comes from knowing what has to be done now and not letting myself get distracted. None of that comes without a solid plan and clear vision of where you want to be.
• Trying to please others or hanging out with the wrong people/crowd - There is nothing wrong with having a couple friends to go out and relax with. But if your “friends” are more interested in wasting the whole night away and paying for it all the next day, then maybe it is time to find people more in line with what you want to accomplish in life. It’s ok to tell people “No” every now and then, as long as you know what you need to do….you’ll be happy in life regardless of what others may think. If you base your actions just trying to make other people have a good opinion of you, then you will never find freedom to be happy on your own.

Those are just a few things I know that I want to avoid and bring nothing positive into my life. So on the other side, I also have a positive energy side (which is usually much longer….as I would rather focus most of my time on what I need to do, not what to avoid). So my positive energy list could look like this:

• Getting Exercise (Who doesn’t feel better after getting the blood going?)
• Being Outside/Getting Sunshine (especially if it is doing exercise)
  
• Talking to/seeing old friends (especially if you can share a beer/drink with them)
• Getting to bed early and starting the day earlier (not sleeping in)
• Having a plan of action for the day (not worrying about anything, just having a clear picture of where I want to be and taking action)
• Accomplishing tasks (and not procrastinating)
• Eating light throughout the day and having a bigger meal at night
• Sharing knowledge and helping people get healthier (hence why I choose what I do for a living)
  
• Paying off all Debt (we all can work on that, but having no debt is a great feeling)
• Appreciating what I already have (taking time out to not buy into the mental addiction that I always need something more in my life, as I have plenty around me to be thankful for)
• Keeping things simple (I don’t like complicated)
• Periods of doing nothing (shutting off the mind, getting outside, no phone, no computer, no ipod, just sometimes staring off into nature….just letting the mind relax and wander. Those are the moments in which I have my best inspiration and ideas. I get back on track easier by forcing myself to go do nothing…..where most people take a break with distractions like TV, video games, movies, computer….that will not help the mind refocus on what I need to do.)
• Working less hours (by forcing myself to get things done in less time everyday I have actually upped my productivity and results. No more working from 8am to 10pm+, it’s now about setting time to get my work done and then moving on with my day. I call that the vacation syndrome, as most people get the most productive on the days before leaving for vacation. Take a mini vacation daily and learn to focus on what is important and ignore things that don’t matter. It’s the 80/20 rule….we spend 20% of our time on the 80% that matters…..and 80% of our time on the 20% that is trivial. Imagine getting the most important things done and having 80% more free time!)
• Having a Crystal Clear vision of where I want to be in life/career (don’t say you just want more money, as that will never happen. You have to be as specific as possible in knowing what you want in life. Only then can you know what steps to take to get there. As that is what success is, just taking the right steps. Anyone can do it, but many never get there for just a lack of real focus. So simple yet so many fail to do it.)

There you have it. You can make your list as long as you want and as many pages as you like. The more awareness you get into your own inner self, the better off you will be able to live life the way you want to. Use the log to look back as far as you want to see when you felt the best, or worst and what lead up to it. You can realize how you felt each day and why it happened. Use this to help track your eating habits and learn what is and is not working for you. Figure out what kind of social activities and exercise brings you the most in return. See what friends/groups bring you positive energies and which ones you may need to stop hanging around. See what commitments you enjoy and which ones you really don’t need to be doing. Focus on making your daily lifestyle full of all the positive energy factors and remove all the negative energy factors. Less is more, especially if those small things can bring such great joy in return. Start today, start right now and make a list. Read that list daily, remind yourself where your focus needs to be. It’s your life to live, so mine as well enjoy it!

photos from: Billie

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