The Energy Within

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If you experienced a brownout over the weekend, it might have been from all the light bulbs beaming in my head. I offer no apologies.

I listened to a Webinar at work on Friday about how to harness positive energy to get through tough times. It sounds New Age-y but it wasn’t. And all weekend long I thought of how I could incorporate those teachings into my daily life. Then I thought: why not share what I learned because I read your blogs and your emails and your tweets and I know you’re sometimes stressed out and not sleeping well and then stressed out about not sleeping well. Am I right?

Basic Needs
First, you need to understand that human beings need four sources of energy to be at their best:

  • Physical energy is the foundation and includes fitness, nutrition, sleep and renewal.

  • Emotional energy influences how we approach everything, from our work to our relationships.

  • Mental energy comes from the ability to focus on one thing at a time, really absorb it.

  • The human spirit comes from doing something that really matters and for some greater purpose other than self-interest.


    • We need all of these to be working in conjunction to be at our peak. Think back to the best moments of your life and chances are great that you were imbibing the perfect energy elixir at the time.

    Get in the Zone
    There are four different states of energy:

  • The Performance Zone is where you’re energetic, hopeful, challenged, focused, confident.

  • The Survival Zone is where a lot of us are right now because of the recession. Here you’re impatient, irritable, angry, fearful, anxious and worried.

  • The Burnout Zone is the worst place from which to try and perform – and where you end up if you spend too much time in survival mode. You’re exhausted, empty and depressed.

  • The Recovery Zone is the antidote, in which you feel carefree, peaceful, relaxed and relieved.


    • Analogies to training are obvious. What may not be is the importance of one concept that we often give short shrift.

    The Beauty of Rest
    The higher the performance demand, the more renewal you need.

    I repeat: The more that’s required of you, the more you need to give it a rest. For runners, the golden rule is to follow every hard run with an easy one and be sure to incorporate pure rest days into weekly training schedules. In races, it’s managing your energy on a course so that you “rest” just long enough for the next big push.

    Here’s where the value of sleep is crucial. Some 95 percent of humans need 7 or 8 hours of good, quality sleep daily to function well. Deprive yourself of that amount over time and not only does less sleep become a habit, but you no longer recognize that you’re mentally impaired. This becomes your new normal.

    So as you try to figure out how to cram more into your days, remember to also do less. Carve out time in each day to slow way down, shift your mind into neutral and feel the healing powers that only rest – true rest, not go-for-a-bike-ride-instead-of-a-run rest – can provide. Remember you're not just recharging physically, but emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

    I bet you thank me later when you have the best time ever.

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