"Think strategically about where you place your energy… Every battle is won long before it is fought."— James McPartland
Last week I began to unpack all of the places we allocate our energy on any given day. Using the analogy of a tray of ice cubes that holds 12 small blocks of ice, I asked us to consider how each morning we receive a fresh tray, and we get to choose where to place each one of our frozen energy blocks throughout the course of our day.
There are so many places to place our energy-- our family relationships, our work, emails & texts, commuting, having meals, and taking care of our hygiene. All our life activities use up our limited energy blocks and they have to be replenished.
By practicing these five principles you will not only keep yourself energized, but I guarantee you that your family, friends, co-workers, employees, and the important members of your community will be positively energized just being around you:
#1. Practice Integrity -
Doing what you say you will do, when you say you will do it, and in the manner you know it needs to be done. Without having to manage all the over-promising and under-delivering or juggle too much on your plate because you failed to do a cost-benefit analysis-- you expend less energy. It's like your cell phone in low-energy mode. You trim the excess, do less and preserve more.
#2. Embrace Responsibility -
Choosing to be fully accountable for all the circumstances of your life, never placing blame, and maintaining cause and control inside of yourself are keys to not wasting energy. You can always choose to take responsibility to a situation, even if you're not responsible for it. And it takes far more energy to avoid personal responsibility.
#3. Have Courageous Conversations -
Just have the conversation that needs to be had. We expend so much unnecessary energy being anxious about the thing that needs to be said. Say what is true for you and in turn, be the type of person to whom others can safely express themselves with authenticity and candor.
#4. Be Mindful of Transitions -
Stay mindful of the quality of your energy as you move from meeting to meeting, call to call, person to person, and from work to family throughout the day.
#5. Prioritize Self Care -
Be intentional about nutrition, sleep, exercise, education, family, friends, and mindfulness. Every consistent action in these areas will affect the quality of the energy you put out into the world. How can we give our best if we are not at our best?
Being strategic about how we nurture our energy, positions us to be and give our best. Practicing these five pure energy principles can equip us to win any battle long before it is fought.
Try that, and stay tuned next week for the final part of our No Straight Lines series!
Mac 😎
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