Hey there, lovely!
Do you believe that women’s entrepreneurship is synonymous with women’s empowerment? Would you agree that a creative business owner must value the power of full engagement?
As I have been reading the book by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz entitled the Power of Full Engagement, I cannot help but think of including the lessons I have learned to produce such an informative and creative blog for Maven. I swear, these are all priceless jewels that we can use while progressing as creative business owners.
“We live in digital time. Our rhythms are rushed, rapid fire, and relentless, our days carved up into bits and bytes. We celebrate breadth rather than depth, quick reaction more than considered reflection. We skim across the surface, alighting for brief moments at dozens of destinations but rarely remaining for long at anyone. We race through our lives without pausing to consider who we really want to be or where we really want to go. We’re wired up, but we’re melting down.
Most of us are just trying to do the best that we can. When demand exceeds our capacity, we begin to make expedient choices that get us through our days and nights but take a toll over time. We survive on too little sleep, wolf down fast foods on the run, fuel up with coffee, and cool down with alcohol and sleeping pills. Faced with relentless demands at work, we become short-tempered and easily distracted. We return home from long days at work feeling exhausted and often experience our families not as a source of joy and renewal, but as one more demand in an already overburdened life.”
Familiar? These can be one of your daily struggles in a day-to-day scenario. Right?
These authors suggested that rechanneling energy is just as vital as time management. People who can do both can outperform their near-to-burnt out peers. I will then share my takeaways on maintaining our four kinds of energy – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual – living a purpose and accepting our limitations.
The virtual currency of good performance is energy, not time.
Effective energy management is the foundation of performance, health, and enjoyment. The number of hours in a day is constant, but the amount and quality of energy we have are not. It is our most valuable asset. The more we take ownership of the power we provide to the planet, the more empowered and productive we become.
The book argues that if we want to perform at our best, we must first and foremost manage our energy, not our time. The typical recommendation in our always-on digital age is to commit more time to doing more tasks. However, we all have only 24 hours in a day which is a constant, and doing everything is impossible as a mom entrepreneur, a lady boss, and even as a solo start-up. We all run out of time sooner or later.
Remember: It’s not about how much time we put into anything; it’s about how much energy we bring to be effective with time.
The four sources of energy.
To be fully involved, we must be physically stimulated, deeply attached, mentally engaged, and spiritually linked with a goal beyond our immediate self-interest.
Full engagement necessitates four distinct but interrelated energy sources: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
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Physical energy is about doing regular tasks. We would not be able to achieve anything until we have physical stamina. It is determined by how well we sleep, eat, and exercise.
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Emotional energy enables us to respond to situations with a strong convicted emotion rather than allowing the world to push our buttons. Positive emotions enhance performance while negative emotions detract from it. We must access pleasant and positive feelings to operate at our best: pleasure, ambition, excitement, and opportunities.
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Our mental energy fuels our mental capacity to focus. This energy is our ability to concentrate on whatever we want, whenever we want, for as long as possible. It helps us stay strong when things get too harsh and push through the tedious portions of our job when necessary.
It is not about religion; spiritual energy is what motivates us to perform. According to the writers, spiritual power has a system of values and a greater purpose than our self-interest. It serves as a compass for our life and helps to inspire us.
It is either we are entirely involved or strategically disengaged.
The ability to completely participate in the problem and disengage to seek restoration characterizes the richest, happiest, and most productive lives. Instead, we live our lives as if we were competing in a constant marathon, forcing ourselves to levels of exertion much beyond what is healthy.
We are not designed to run at high speeds consistently for lengthy periods as humans. Instead, we operate best when we are intentional in our energy expenditure and intermittent energy renewal.
The power of energy work
“We use the word ‘ritual’ purposefully to emphasize the notion of a carefully defined, highly structured behavior. In contrast to will and discipline, which require pushing yourself to a particular behavior, a ritual pulls at you. Think of something as simple as brushing your teeth. It is not something that you ordinarily have to remind yourself to do. Brushing your teeth is something to which you feel consistently drawn, compelled by its clear health value. You do it largely on automatic pilot, without much conscious effort or intention. The power of rituals is that they ensure that we use as little conscious energy as possible where it is not absolutely necessary, leaving us free to strategically focus the energy available to us in creative, enriching ways.”
Rituals emphasize our habits. Instead, we should create practices and patterns that restore and maximize our energy throughout the day. Routines are mainly developed to help people regulate their energy levels, become much more involved, and function better.
Energy rituals can be anything that helps you recharge and feel in alignment by replenishing your physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual energy.
For example, taking a walk, conversing with a colleague, completing a little workout, relaxing, napping, and so on are all energy-renewing activities.
When I feel like I am not in alignment with my focus, energy, or body, I will go outside. The practice of grounding myself with the earth alongside breathwork does fantastic things for me. I kick my shoes off and begin to breathe deeply. This breath fills my body with clean oxygen. The fresh air is so calming and energizing all at once. In the summer, the warmth of the sun. I focus on clearing my thoughts and realigning my energy. The best part is I can do this in under 10 minutes, and even my kiddos join in.
I can personally attest that these engagement tips are incredibly helpful. I block out my time daily to channel my energy for work- a cup of coffee in the morning while rethinking the daily routine before starting anything is quite effective.
Pro Tip: I include gratitude into this practice while watching my kids dig into breakfast at the table, and it pushes me to vibrate higher.
So, now that you know how to manage your energy, how will you put it into effect in your life? Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr recommend precision and accuracy as significant causal instruments. Choosing a specific time and location for when you’ll do something dramatically improves the chances of you just doing it.
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