Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz are high performance experts who have worked with famous athletes and high powered business professionals. They wrote “The Power of Full Engagement” to explain the idea that it is actually more important to manage your energy than your time or your projects.
“Thoughts are determined by the level of energy in the system.” ~ Donny Epstein
I started thinking about Donny’s statement and noticed that when I feel sad, discouraged or depressed I also have low energy. My “vibration” is lower, and I am less motivated to engage with others or to get involved in a project. Those negative beliefs and self-defeating comments like “I’m not good enough,” “Who wants to hear what I have to say,” or “I can’t do it” rise to the surface. I tend to be more judgmental and more insecure.
Those things don’t even come up when I am feeling good about myself, or when I feel strong and happy. Ha! I have more energy at those times! So what comes first, the energy or the thoughts?
I did notice that when I take time to exercise, it directly impacts my energy level, and I feel good. There is a sense of accomplishment, as well as a sense of well being. And this seems to carry through to the way my day unfolds. And yes, my thoughts seem to be more positive. I move forward with a feeling of possibility, and my choices reflect that.
Loehr and Schwartz make a case for maintaining rituals that lift and sustain high levels of energy. Surprisingly, this revolves around self-care and taking time away from performance for rest and renewal. Down time is actually productive, and turns out to be a critical component of
successful performance in highly stressful situations.
