Protect Your Energy

Have you ever heard someone say, "My energy has been drained?" When people or circumstances sap your energy, it can have dire consequences. What drains our energy resources? Many things do. In a less than perfect world, things don't always go right or happen as you expect; someone says or does something that is negative, and despite your best efforts, you can't change it or shake it off.

What is really draining us is not the events. It's our reaction to them; our emotions, our worries, anger, fear, and doubt. This often happens when you focus your attention on the negative event.It's up to you to keep your attention on yourself and on what you can do. Create a mindset that moves you away from worry, anger, fear and doubt. Stop blaming others or circumstances for how you feel. Stop giving them your energy. You are in charge; you direct your thoughts and energy.

In William Glasser's book, Choice Theory, he discusses his method of dealing with clients. Glasser believed that most problems, and many neuroses, are self-inflected. Often clients feel powerless. Powerlessness is a thought process or set of thoughts that come from you. What Dr. Glasser does is to change the thinking process of his clients. He begins by having them describe a feeling or emotion as a verb, an action. By changing the client's perception, it changes how they think about what is happening.

For example, if a client said, "I am angry," Dr. Glasser would say "Why are you angering," or "Why are you depress-ing", or "Sad-ing." You see, if we are angering, we are taking action to be angry. If we are depressing, the question is, why are we choosing to depress? What this exercise does is empower the person to take responsibility, to take action. It puts them in charge of their thinking, feeling, their power, and their energy. They can make a choice to stop angering or depressing, rather than giving in or giving up.

Your energy goes down a chosen path based on your thoughts. But, you can change the path. You can redirect your thinking. When you choose your thoughts, you choose who and what gets your energy, and thus, you protect your energy.

Remember:

• It's all where you set your focus; 
• Hopelessness is created in the mind;
• Fear, and anger, worry, are all created in the mind; and
• Strength, enthusiasm, hope, faith, joy, and success are all created in the mind.

Focus on you.

~ Dennis