Feb 24, 2020
Why Managing Your Energy Is So Important!
Your energy levels literally affect everything you do.
We can very easily get caught up in feeling like if we’re in a bad mood or feeling negative that there’s something fundamentally ‘wrong’ with us at an identity level.
Which just escalates the negative feeling right?
Then you start to beat yourself up for not being positive or not showing up in the way that you want to.
But with a little self awareness we can overcome that pesky ego, realise it may not actually be about us and be able to handle it SOooooo much better.
The reason I want to talk about this today is because I have just got back from a super intense event in Amsterdam and it was SO interesting to observe my moods, my behaviour, where my thoughts wanted to go as the week progressed based completely around my energy levels.
What gives me energy and what takes it away and what the results are of me having a lack of energy.
This often happens to me at these kinds of events...new levels of self awareness aplenty!
This is important!
It highlighted something for me that I want to share with you because it’s so fundamentally important to understand that you are not your thoughts, you are not your moods BUT your energy can really affect both.
We make assumptions about what the problem is...and we usually decide it’s us!
I covered a lot of this in the episode ‘What’s the problem Really?’ about where we can very easily make assumptions about what’s ‘wrong’ with us and labelling it that it actually stops us identifying the very thing that could make you feel better much more quickly and easily because we stop looking for the root of the issue.
You can identify it and literally snap yourself out of the feeling because you have no emotional attachment to it anymore!
Where’s the non negotiables?
I normally have some pretty strict non negotiables with myself and my routine that are obviously very difficult...if not impossible, to follow while you’re away and technically on someone else’s schedule.
Things like sleep. I’m an 8 hours per night kind of a gal. I’m really strict with it because I know how much it affects me.
A lack of sleep in general can cause you to lose concentration and productivity.
It decreases your social and emotional intelligence, so your ability to read situations, other people and your own emotions.
It can cause procrastination and a lack of motivation.
You lack focus.
Essentially your brain can’t function to the best of its ability.
You’re off your game!
I like to get up a couple of hours earlier than I ‘need’ to to go through my routine…cup of earl grey or hot water and lemon, read some of my book, journal etc.
One of my biggest peeves in life is feeling ‘rushed’ and I know that about myself so I put contingencies in place which means I very rarely do feel it...until it’s more out of my control.
So...when I'm at 5 day events that are 8am until 11pm with few breaks, and when you DO have a break you have to rush to the toilet or rush to find food nearby meaning it doesn’t feel like much of a ‘break’, it becomes a choice between slightly more sleep or feeling rushed in the morning.
So I would always choose sleep because I know that will have a much bigger effect on me and my experience at the event.
Another is eating rubbish and not drinking enough water.
I ACTIVELY go against what I know to be true and not drink lots of water because there are limited breaks.
That’s bonkers but it happens because I don’t want to leave the room and miss something and I don’t want to sit there cross legged unable to concentrate and I make a choice for what’s going to be better for me in that moment, it may not be the choice you would make.
I also eat a LOT, I have loads of snacks because when I really feel my energy drop or start to feel sleepy the best thing for ME to do is snack.
BUT...then I feel bad about eating alllll the snacks...but at least i’m awake right?
And if i’m being honest all this stuff can affect me quite a lot and until I catch myself in it I can get a bit frustrated with myself because guess what...i’m a human too! Ha!
You don’t have to be perfect all the time and sometimes it’s actually really hard and often impractical to 100% practice what you preach. BUT it’s about doing what you CAN and being AWARE and practicing alittle compassion and forgiveness for yourself ha!
So, how can this help you?
I’m going to tell you the behaviours and thoughts that I noticed in myself and you might be able to identify a couple of yours, meaning that next time you’re feeling not quite yourself you can use that self awareness to ‘troubleshoot’ if you will and get back on track.
It will help you identify what you need more or less of.
It will help you understand it’s not YOU, on an unconscious identity level, so to speak and therefore reducing the emotions surrounding it, meaning you can simply choose another thought and let it go.
It wasn’t a surprise
So, with all this it’s no surprise to me that I started to feel frustrated with myself and like I wasn’t showing up as my best possible Frannie when I was tired, was eating rubbish, eating WAY more than I normally would and my brain was just utterly overloaded and I was 100% out of my routine. I couldn’t even get a cup of tea ha!
Why is tea with milk only a thing in England?!
This training was incredible, don’t get me wrong, I feel SO grateful and fortunate to be able to do these things and have access to literally the best of the best in terms of training and education and I don’t take that for granted.
BUT, I can find them tough. Energising at the same time because the speakers are world class at managing the energy in the room, but tough.
The person teaching was literally my mentor's mentor when it comes to marketing.
He has trained some of the BEST in the industry. Russell Brunson, Ryan Deiss, Brian Tracy, Vishen Lakhiani, Brendon Burchard, Jay Abraham and tonnes more so I was making sure I was taking copious amounts of notes and making sure I absorbed as much as I could.
Then came the overload!
Psychologist George Miller’s research suggests the short term memory can only hold so much information at once. 7 chunks of information plus or minus 2 depending on the person. So that’s 5-9 pieces. Not a lot right?
Processing information takes up a HUGE amount of energy. The brain uses up 20% (!) of the body’s total energy in a resting state...when you consider how small the brain is in comparison you can see just how high a percentage that really is.
The areas that use the MOST energy are responsible for auditory processing and memory….and what do you need most when you’re learning??!
So you can see where this is going right?
Overloaded brain.
Not enough sleep.
Eating rubbish food and lots of it.
Running off adrenaline and rushing everywhere.
Out of my routine.
When all this is going on all the things you’ve worked hard to stop doing seem to bubble right up to the surface.
So there’s the REAL thing that was going on, the cause of my frustration if you will...now let’s have a talk about some of the ‘symptoms’ so you can see if any resonate for you and if they do, where in your life right now are you out of balance?
What else could be a good possible cause for negative feelings?
Can you see an easy course correct that would get you feeling better?
How are you taking care of yourself and protecting your energy?
I found myself feeling/being:
More negativity.
More skepticism.
Less patience with myself and other people.
Less concentration.
More judgemental.
People started to annoy mea bit, my fuse got shorter.
I wanted to hermit a bit. The introvert in me was having a field day!
Lack of focus.
Generally a little bit moany.
Now, for me, I find it very easy to catch myself in these moments and to know what’s REALLY going on and flip my thoughts and reframe in an instant, so it’s annoying that you feel it but much easier to get out of.
I’m already in the habit of being the ‘observer’ of my thoughts, being curious and asking myself the right questions. You will get there too if you’re not just yet.
So the main thing is knowing how to get out of those thought processes as and when you want to but also thinking outside the box for ways to improve the situation.
What COULD you do that would potentially create some damage limitation for the lack of energy?
The more you can recognise your own patterns, habits and behaviours the easier and quicker it is for you to get out of.
So when you’re feeling a bit ‘meh’ or not feeling yourself have a look at a few of these things, where is your energy?
What normally goves you energy that you’re not doing? What tweak could you make that you know is going to make you feel better?
Exercise? Blasting out a power ballad? Drinking more water? I’ve got a tonne of other ideas in the episode ‘How to change your state quickly’ so go check that out!
With the awful news last week of the beautiful Caroline Flack I also think it’s hugely important to mention if you are feeling low for a sustained period of time then please do seek the relevant help.
There is ALWAYS someone ready and waiting to talk to you whether it’s a friend or family member, a health professional or a company like the Samaritans there IS always someone there for you. https://www.samaritans.org/ Call 116 123 24 hours a day in the UK whether you’re worried about yourself or a loved one.
And in a world where you can be anything, please, please #bekind, to yourself and others. Think before you speak, think before you judge and remember you never know what might be going on for someone else.
Lets all lead with a little more love.
If you know that now is the time to start changing things for yourself and want to explore this further, have any questions or want some accountability to make sure you’re doing the things you need to then please book in a free discovery call so we can see what needs to happen to get you from where you’re at right now, to the successful business owner you know you can be!!
Fx