Re-energizing My Life
Look out world! My theme for this year is to re-energize my life! And because it’s my theme for the year, any decisions I make will be evaluated with this theme in mind to determine if I am truly aligned and making choices that support my goal.
I must say that just the process of identifying this theme has already given me more energy, but more importantly, it has helped to me evaluate what in my life right now is draining my energy. I’m sharing this process with you because I feel so strongly that most of the time we don’t realize what deflates us; what brings us down. And if we do recognize it, sometimes we don’t even have the energy to deal with it.
This blog is not about being a super woman or super mom. As women we often take on too much and don’t give ourselves a break when we don’t meet our own expectations. This post is about energy. What fuels our energy? What drains our energy?
Where are your energy leaks?
1. Work
Are you doing the type of work that fuels your energy; that validates your sense of accomplishment? Because we spend much of our lives working, this is SO important. Key questions to ask yourself are:
- Do I look forward to going to work?
- Am I tired before the work day begins?
- Do I procrastinate completing projects? (this could be due to other factors as well)
- Do I enjoy the people I work with?
- Do I feel respected at work?
- Do I spend more time being frustrated than fulfilled?
2. Personal Relationships
Our personal relationships provide a support system for us, but how much of our time and energy is spent supporting others?
- Do I get the support I need from my friends and family?
- How much time do I spend in relationships that drain my energy?
- Who are the people in my life that give me energy and support?
3. Lifestyle Choices
- Am I getting enough exercise?
- Does my diet reflect healthy choices that provide me with the energy I need to support my lifestyle? (P.S. Caffeine is not the answer)
- Do I take time out for myself on a regular basis to recharge my batteries?
- Do I have a hobby or sport that I participate in that rejuvenates me?
- Is my home environment organized and functional or am I always struggling to keep up?
- Why do I live where I live? Do I spend too much time commuting? Is it worth it?
I know from my own perspective as I evaluate new work projects this year I will look very carefully at the type of work to determine if it aligns with my talent and strengths. Though it is sometimes difficult to turn down opportunities, I know how toxic it can be to choose projects that drain my energy and leave me feeling deflated in the process. I already have plans for a new website, a new radio show, a book and much more. Stay tuned!
I will look to spend more time with the people in my life who stimulate me intellectually and inspire me to be the best I can be. That’s a great energy source.
Let me ask you: What drains your energy? How can you re-energize your life going forward?
Celebrating Women on Mother’s Day
It’s in our DNA. All women, whether or not they gave birth, have the innate qualities to nurture others. In essence, we are all mothers who spend a great deal of our time and energy motivating, supporting, comforting, and loving those around us. These qualities are the foundation of who we are as women; how we present ourselves to the world.
These feminine traits have not always been viewed favorably in the work place. Women have often been squeezed into a box of “traditional maleness” that made us feel uncomfortable and phony. The most efficient path to success in business has always been to take on the qualities of our male colleagues and mimic their leadership and management style. After all, that was the only acceptable model.
But slowly things are changing. Traditional leadership models are changing with the increased realization that feminine qualities of compassion, empathy, listening and nurturing create well-rounded leaders who can move our businesses forward to prosper with integrity.
This Mother’s Day, let us recognize and celebrate what is special about mothers and women in general. Not only do we nurture our family and friends, but we have the unique ability to lead our businesses, country and world to a better place.
Be Thankful for YOU!
This is the time of year when we reflect on everything we are grateful for. We give thanks for all the wonderful people in our lives; family, friends, business colleagues. They all contribute to our personal and professional well being and it’s important to take the time to appreciate their presence and contributions to our lives.
I think we should also look inward and be thankful for our own talent and the wonderful and unique qualities we have. We tend to take ourselves for granted. We put ourselves down. Often we don’t take ownership of our accomplishments and successes.
This Thanksgiving give yourself the gift of YOU. Take the time to write out what is special about you, personally and professionally.
What have you accomplished this year?
What qualities do you bring to your personal and professional relationships?
Write it all down and review the list.
Celebrate and be thankful for everything you are!
Our Girlfriends Keep Us Healthy
This article was emailed to me by a friend this week and apparently it has circulated around the internet. I was unable to find the source, but I am passing it along regardless because I think the message is important. I would love to know your thoughts on the subject.
In a class given at Stanford, the last lecture was on the mind-body connection–the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.
Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time” helps us to create more serotonin–a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings?–rarely. Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.
There’s a tendency to think that when we are “exercising” we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged–not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking! So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo, let’s toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. It’s very good for our health.
What are your thoughts? Do your girlfriends keep you healthy?
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