5 Ways to Increase Your Energy
The dictionary defines energy as the exertion of power.
But there’s more to energy than working out or having a cup of coffee in the morning.
Your energy is determined by many factors, including your habits, surroundings, the content you consume, and even the clothes you wear.
If you’re suffering from low energy, fatigue, and feel like life has you trapped inside a bubble of negativity, it’s time to elevate the level of your energy by making deliberate choices on a daily basis that will improve your life and align you with your future self.
Let’s talk five ways to increase your energy.
5 Ways to Increase Your Energy
Increase the Energy of Your Thoughts
Energy levels are determined by your mind before the contribution of outside factors. The way you see yourself has everything to do with your energy.
If you are in the habit of saying things like, “I’m so tired,” or “I don’t know what to do,” you’re going to create exactly that into existence.
So, you have to elevate the energy of your thinking. Thoughts become things, which become your reality. So by thinking and saying things like, “I’m so tired,” you’ve basically already decided ahead of time that’s the way it’s going to be.
We live in a society that promotes chronically low energy, burnout, and being tired all the time, which doesn’t help. Low energy, fatigue, and being tired are all topics we tend to bond with others on, similarly to striking up conversations about the weather.
Think about it: When you head into the office on Monday morning, what’s a common topic of conversation at the water cooler (besides the aforementioned weather)?
Often times, co-workers bond over low energy levels and how tired they are. That they need more coffee. They can’t believe it’s Monday. It’s going to be a long week. They’re so busy, stressed out, burned out, etc.
What you say and what you think has everything to do with your energy levels.
Try focusing on high-energy thoughts, even when you don’t feel like it. The low-energy thoughts you’re thinking and speaking out loud aren’t helping you, so what do you have to lose by embracing high-energy thoughts?
Even if you are genuinely tired and didn’t sleep well the night before, you can still create high-energy with your thinking.
Instead of saying, “I’m so tired, I barely got any sleep last night,” you can say, “I didn’t sleep well last night, but that’s okay. It’s going to be a great day.”
You can excel at everything else I’m about to share with you, and still suffer from low energy if your thoughts aren’t in alignment. Everything starts in your thoughts.
Related:
- How to Change Negative Thinking in 3 Steps
- 3 Morning Routines You Need to Stop Doing
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
- Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset
Increase the Energy of Your Intellectual Consumption
Your intellectual consumption is anything you consume with your mind-television, books, social media, movies, the news, etc.
Pay attention to what you consume mentally. You want to intellectually consume what supports your future, not your present or your past.
One of my key takeaways of 2020 was that the news in particular has oversaturated our lives and created a lot of low, negative energy. While it is the news’ job to inform, the energy of the news tends to be low and create a vibration of doom and gloom.
It is with this in mind I quit the news in 2020. I quit reading the news articles on my local news stations’ Facebook pages and quit watching it on TV.
On that note-I’m not ignorant of what’s going on in the world, and I don’t suggest anyone block out current events.
Instead, I get my news from a few specific sources that I know won’t leave me with that doom-and-gloom, negative-vibe feeling. As a result, my life has definitely changed for the better and I struggle a lot less often
Whatever you’re consuming intellectually-be it the news, social media, books, movies, television, magazines, or any other form of consumption-make sure it’s in line with your future self and not leaving you stuck in the past or present circumstances.
Related:Â
- 4 Ways Your Environment Impacts Your Future Self
- 7 Tools to Manage Anxiety
- The Best Personal Development Books for 2021
- How to Manage Your Media Consumption
Increase the Energy of Your Surroundings
Your surroundings include your home, the people you hang out with, the places you frequent, and even your car.
Take stock of these components of your life. Do they bring high energy or low energy?
For instance, is your home cluttered and dirty, or clean and organized? What about the car you drive? Are there fast food wrappers piled in the side of your car, or is it neat and tidy?
A lot of people think that since they don’t have the car or home of their dreams yet that there is no point in taking care of what they have now. I would argue that if you can’t take care of what you have now, how are you building integrity to have more?
Living in a home that you don’t take care of, or owning possessions you don’t take care of, is not going to create high energy in your life.
The same is true for the people you surround yourself with. Nothing will zap your energy more than spending time with low-energy people. Friends with never-ending drama or who complain all the time. People who, if you shared ideas with them, they’d tell you you’re crazy to think your idea is even possible.
If you look back on a long-term friendship with someone and realize your friend has not evolved or changed in the years you’ve known them, this is a good sign they are low-energy.
The places you frequent count, too. Places that bring low energy are places you leave feeling mentally depleted or wondering why you ever set foot in them in the first place.
Go to places that emit high energy and make you feel good after you’ve left them.
Resources:
- 7 Mindset Hacks and Habits to Cultivate Happiness
- How to Control Your Emotions and Win in Any Situation
- 10 Ways to Declutter Your Life
Increase the Energy of Your Health
This one is probably a no-brainer: Eat healthy, work out, and get adequate sleep, and you’ll have a lot more energy.
I always believed the key to making healthy habits a long-term lifestyle was to first understand the benefits of healthy habits on your well-being.
Until you truly understand why you should choose the salad over the French fries at lunch or why waking up an hour early to work out is worth it, you’re going to struggle to make the habits stick and it’s going to be a never-ending uphill battle. It’s just going to feel like torture.
A misconception of working out is it wears you out and makes you feel fatigued, but the opposite is true. Working out boosts your endorphins.
When you work out on a regular basis and your body depends on that endorphin boost, and you miss a workout, you’ll feel like you missed your morning cup of coffee.
Related:
- How to Make Exercise A Habit in 6 Steps
- High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become that Way
- How I Made Fitness & Nutrition A Lifestyle
Increase the Energy of Your Style
Be deliberate in the choices you make with the clothes you wear and the way you present yourself. Even if you work from home and aren’t seeing anyone.
It’s not about dressing like it’s your wedding day or being the best dressed in the room. Wear clothes that give you high energy. Style your hair and makeup in a way that gives you high energy.
I work from home, and for me, high energy is wearing a nice top (doesn’t have to be fancy) and often times leggings, with my hair lightly styled and a little bit of makeup. For me, this sets me up to emit high energy and have a great day of work.
Even if you think you don’t have a sense of style, technically, you do. Whether it’s deliberate or not.
Something I learned is its easy for us to wear what is emotionally comfortable-loose-fitting clothes, the sweatpants, etc. But are you dressing and styling yourself in a way that brings high energy, or just emotional comfort?
Last year, as I was going through my closets and dresser drawers, I looked at some of the old clothing I hadn’t worn in years, and realized how out of touch that clothing was with who I’d become. But instead of just going out and buying new clothes, I started selling off some of my old clothes on Poshmark first.
I also threw away old sweatshirts and other articles of clothing that had seen better days-including a couple of pieces I wore around the house often. It occurred to me that apparently I didn’t care enough about my appearance to not wear clothing that had seen better days (including one sweatshirt that had a bleach spot on it).
Bottom line: Wear clothes that energize you, not drag you down or serve as emotional comfort.
Resources:
- 5 Self-Discipline Tips for Success
- 7 Decluttering Mistakes and How to Fix Them
- 5 Things Successful Women Manage Well
Before You Go
Be deliberate in your choices and watch the components of your life elevate your energy.
So many people have resigned themselves to a life of low energy, fatigue, negativity, and mediocrity, but when you intentionally make choices that are high-energy, you’ll improve the quality of your life and align yourself with the future you you’re becoming.
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