As we move into autumn, now is a crucial time to check in with your energy levels. We often leave new regimes and lifestyle changes to ‘after the summer’, as well as a whole host of practical and social activities. It’s a great time to look ahead to the end of the year, and think about what’s coming up and what you want to achieve. Do you need to ramp it up a gear?
A good way to check in with your energy is to imagine a PowerBar inside you that represents your current energy level. To gain a deeper understanding of your energy, you can think about the four Powerbars – your Mental, Physical, Emotional, and Spirit Powerbars of energy. The Mental Powerbar shows how clear-thinking and organised you are. The Physical Powerbar holds your strength and vitality. The Emotional Powerbar reflects how calm and cooperative you feel. The Spirit Powerbar represents your joy and enthusiasm for life.
Let’s start with the Physical PowerBar – the sunshine and salads of summer might have left you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, or maybe you could have indulged in a little too many impromptu G&Ts on the grass. It might be time to ease back into the exercise regime – maybe try a few dry weeks or leave drinking for when the weekend rolls around. Perhaps you could look into cutting out sugar, just for a month. See how it goes – listen to your body and respond.
The Mental PowerBar – if that’s not been firing on all cylinders, then it’s time for a re-group. What are your personal, social, and occupational priorities? Have a think about where your focus needs to be concentrated for the remainder of the year – what are the things you jotted on the post-summer mental list? Make your plan and talk it through with a friend to check how realistic it is. This will also help to increase your commitment and gain some encouragement.
The Emotional Powerbar is dependent on how much pressure you’ve felt recently – maybe you’ve had chance to relax while being on furlough, or maybe you’ve been stuck at home with the kids for a bit too long. You could be running on empty, possibly feeling defeated and impatient, or irritable and tense. If you’re struggling with this energy, then perhaps getting back into work and being around like-minded adult company could benefit you. If you’ve been thriving in the floaty summer space, then you could be feeling a tinge of resentment about the idea of having to ramp it up again. Take some time to think about how you can nurture yourself now you are back to work – simple things like avoiding cramming your diary full of commitments to make space for quality time just for you. You could try practising gratitude awareness to warm your thoughts with a little bit of appreciation; even 30 seconds a day to connect with what you are grateful for in your life can help.
Where is your Spirit Energy? You may have been doing lots of things you enjoy and spending time with people who boost this PowerBar. Or, you may have felt trapped in environments that have completely zapped this energy. If you relate to the latter, try reflecting on how you could move away from this experience – change can sometimes be uncomfortable, but avoidance is a sure-fire route to the continuation of this depleted energy. If you connect to the former, have a think about how you can build more of the activities and people you love into your day to day life – recognise how they make you feel and how much this affects your energy and wellbeing. It is crucial to understand that experiencing joy and enthusiasm in our lives is as vital for our wellbeing as going to the gym and eating a balanced diet. All your PowerBars are equally important.
Taking a few moments every day to check-in with your PowerBars and noticing which ones need a boost will really help you transform your energy this autumn. The My PowerBar app is a free and easy way to achieve this, and even gives you booster ideas for each of the energies. Investing your time into YOU will make this autumn the start of you living life the way you want to.
Find out which of the 4 energies tends to be your strongest, and which has the most potential with the SuperPower Energy Quiz.
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Originally published at mypowerbar.co.uk