This is just the time of year to take a look at that reoccurring problem – how do you keep the passion alive? Because it’s February, you may be thinking of “romance” when I say “passion.” But I mean it in a larger sense. I’m talking about the energy that drives our lives.
This is the time of year when life may look like getting up, shaving, doing the laundry, feeding the dogs, and having the same fights with the same people over the same things. It can be uninviting and uninspiring, a case of “been there, done that, and not too thrilled about the prospect of going there and doing it again.”
Whatever zap of energy we got from the New Year and New Year’s Resolutions has likely worn off. If we’ve dropped our resolutions, there’s a letdown. If we’ve achieved them, there can also be a letdown. I think of the woman who told me once, “I lost the 30 lbs. and still my life isn’t perfect.”
It isn’t about life being perfect, it’s about life BEING. Let’s take a look at that. What the woman meant was that losing 30 lbs. made her look and feel better, and did a lot for her health, but the baby still cried, the secretary still missed the deadline, the traffic still piled up, she still didn’t like her mother-in-law, the dishwasher still needed to be emptied, and she still was unable to streamline her projects at work she way she’d like to.
So how do we recharge our batteries when they’re running low? Here are some tips.
WORK OUT
Putting out energy brings in energy, and the important thing is that this isn’t just physical. Work out MENTALLY by starting a new course, online or on-site. Continual learning throughout life is one of the hallmarks of resilient people. Get in on this early and stay with it.
Work out EMOTIONALLY by taking the focus off yourself, and helping someone else. If you’ve got the blahs and start focusing on that, you can dig yourself into a hole. If you turn outward, toward others, you’ll soon become interested in the world about you and that’s it’s own antidote.
Work out PHYSICALLY by adding to or “upping” your current workout schedule. Many people add pleasant walks this time of year, just to get outside more, to move about more, and to get more sunshine. If you don’t want to go outside, get the movement going inside.
You can manufacture more activity by doing everything you can to be INefficient about your household chores. For instance, take things from the bedroom into the laundry room one item at a time. When working in the garage take one tool and use it and put it back. Go get another. Use it and put it back. Then go back for the first one.
USE MUSIC
Good rousing music can be very helpful. When you’re carrying the laundry in, item by item, place a march by Sousa. When you’re driving in the car to do your errands, play the special tape or CD you put together of high-energy music.
TOUCH THE SOURCE
The source is your purpose. There’s a purpose why each of us is here on earth for the time that we are. What you may not be aware of is that it can fade and become clearer, and it can also change over time. This is a good time to intentionally review your life purpose. It gives meaning to your life and this provides passion and energy. You should do this periodically any way, just to make sure you’re on course. Knowing your purpose means knowing your values, and makes your decisions and priorities fall effortlessly into line.
Here is a website that can guide you to build your personal mission statement:
http://www.franklincovey.com/missionbuilder/index.html?c=Home_Center_TopRight_MissionBuilder .
On this website are activities to guide you in putting together your life purpose: http://www.quintcareers.com/mission_statement_development.html .
WORK WITH A GUIDE
A certified emotional intelligence coach is a life workout guide. They are trained at helping you analyze your needs (emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually), removing obstacles, generating alternatives, choosing viable solutions, designing a strategy for implementing them, and seeing them through to conclusion.
Any time your passion is flagging, go back and review your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. There will be times in life when you have to motivate yourself, and that’s how you do it. Ask yourself how you’re feeling emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally, and then ask yourself what you need to improve your energy in each area. The answer is within you, and so, therefore, is the solution.
