How powerful do you feel right now? Just pause for a moment and think where your energy levels are. Do you feel powerful and able to make things happen in your world? If you build up your own personal energy reserves by actively feeding your personal energy PowerBar, you can have more days when you do.
Our PowerBar represents the level of power, vitality and capacity we feel in any given moment. It can vary day to day, hour by hour and minute by minute. There are many things that impact on the level of our PowerBar, and to really understand this, we need to think about our power and energy in a more defined and precise way.
A helpful way to break it down is to consider our Mental, Emotional, Spirit and Physical energy levels separately. When we understand which energies are low, we know which ones to boost to make a real and lasting impact on our energy levels, rather than using ‘false boosts’ for a short term fix.
When our Mental PowerBar is high, we are focused and clear thinking, solving problems even before they have registered as an issue. A low Mental PowerBar can mean the attention span of a goldfish, a sense of overwhelm, or being just plain stuck.
Boosters for our Mental PowerBar include taking ‘5 Magic Minutes’ to stop and reflect on what you DID get done that day, and plan out what needs to happen tomorrow. We humans have a tendency to focus on what we didn’t get done; when we focus on what we did achieve, it gives us an energy boost that enables us to get even more stuff done. This sense of achievement also helps us be more comfortable about leaving tasks we didn’t get done today. Making the plan for tomorrow will mean you don’t go home with whirring thoughts of the things you still need to do. Sometimes we have a lot of mental activity about ‘stuff’ we need to do, but when we stop and make a list we realise there are actually only 3 things on it, suddenly they feel perfectly achievable!
Emotional PowerBars are quite interesting, because when they are high, it is like a still pool of calm. At these times, we are patient and co-operative, happy to listen to others and generally at ease. The Emotional PowerBar is more noticeable when it is low, this is when we get the impatience, anxiety and blaming behaviours. Great energy boosters for this PowerBar are acts of generosity and kindness, they will truly make a difference for you, and the emotional energy of those around you too. Just hearing about the good deeds of others, who are nothing to do with us, gives us a boost for this energy, so remember how great it feels when it is you who is acting in a generous or kind way to another human. Have a go, it really works. A simple one is to simply give way to someone, either in the car, through a doorway, or just letting them express their view before you.
We recognise the role of our human spirit in our lives when we use phrases like ‘she put her heart into it’ or ‘his spirit was broken’. What we often don’t do is see the importance of actively taking care of it. A low Spirit PowerBar is when we don’t feel heard, or valued, sometimes feeling separate to others sharing the same space. When it is high our enthusiasm pulsates, we are inspired and feel we are really contributing and making a difference in the world. It is soooo important to do things we enjoy and feed our Spirit PowerBar. This is as important as going to the gym and eating vegetables.
Think about what you enjoy. Now, think about your whole week and how much time you spend doing things you enjoy. If you are not sure, keep a ‘Joy Jotter’. Each night, write down what you did that day that you enjoyed. If you don’t spend time doing what you enjoy, your spirit PowerBar will never stay high, which will bring down your whole level of power and energy.
The Physical PowerBar is the one we tend to focus on when we think about our energy levels. It is the sense of physical vitality and strength, rather than tired, achey, toxic and limited. Getting a good nights sleep is massively important for this energy. For some reason, some people see sleep as an indulgence, rather than an essential ingredient to an energised and engaged you. Work out what time you need to go to bed to get the hours you need to feel powerful and energised. This is the time you need to be lights out, eyes closed, not the time you get off the sofa, potter about and start getting ready for bed!
Wind down for an hour leading up to lights out time, this includes avoiding electronic equipment. If you have your phone on in the room, you are unlikely to have a proper night’s sleep as the little email bleeps will keep you out of REM sleep (where rejuvenation happens).
It is easy to look after your PowerBars, the first step is to connect to where they are. Where are each of your 4 PowerBars right now? Any of them low? If so, then do something to boost that energy. Ideas of how to raise each of your 4 energies can be found in the free My PowerBar App, as well as a simple check-in prompt. This will enable you to have more PowerBar up days, and have the energy to really make things happen and be the human you want to be in the world.
Find out which of the 4 energies tends to be your strongest with the SuperPower Energy Quiz.
Download the free My PowerBar app for booster tips: Google Play Apple
Energise You – SuperCharge Your Life: Online Course
Energise Organisations & Teams – Free webinars
Originally published at mypowerbar.co.uk