4 Simple Things To Boost Emotional Energy

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Misty L. Trepke
http://www.searching-alternatives.com

4 Simple Things You Can Do to Boost Emotional Energy
By Francesca Di Meglio

Feeling drained? Surprisingly, it might be your spirit -- and not
your body -- that needs a jolt. "Just as physical energy comes from
diet, exercise and rest, emotional energy comes from the ways you
take care of yourself emotionally -- living in a way that makes you
feel inspired, hopeful, self-confident, playful, loving and in touch
with what you care about most," says Mira Kirshenbaum, author of The
Emotional Energy Factor: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat
Emotional Fatigue. Letting others walk all over you or failing to do
things that make you happy zaps your emotional energy -- and can
leave you feeling unmotivated and even physically tired. To avoid
such weariness, here are Kirshenbaum's four tips for boosting your
emotional energy:

1. Stop living to please other people. In other words, marry the
charming social worker whom you love instead of the rich doctor mom
is pushing on you. Move to Europe if it will make you happy, even if
your girlfriends are making you feel guilty about putting distance
between you. Say no when someone asks you to do something you really
don't want to do. Be who you want to be, do what you want to do and
the rewards will be plentiful, says Kirshenbaum. "When you live your
life for other people, you put out the effort, but they get the
benefit," she adds. "This creates an energy drain, just the way it
would if you did the work on a job and someone else got the
paycheck." You'll free up energy you didn't even know you had once
you quit worrying about what mom, your friends and other family
members think about your decisions.

2. Bring positive people into your world. You need to surround
yourself with people who care about and support you even in your
darkest hours. Avoid those who nag, complain or involve you in their
problems, says Kirshenbaum. Toxic people, who put you down to lift
their own spirits, suck the life right out of you. Spending more
time with those who make you feel good about yourself or inspire you
in some way will revive you. Maybe it's time to start ignoring your
so-called friend who leaves messages on your machine only when she
needs help with something.

3. Always have something big and new on your agenda. Plan that next
vacation or start writing that novel you have in your head. Looking
forward to milestones and events stimulates people. It gives you a
reason to get out of bed in the morning, and that increases your
desire to work toward your goals. "You gain energy from the hopes
you have for your future? making your present feel more manageable,
and that, too, frees up emotional energy," says Kirshenbaum.
Actually putting the wheels in motion (for example, calling the
travel agent, writing the outline for the book) will also make you
feel better -- and excited to keep it up.

4. Never live in the past. Quit dwelling on what might have happened
with that old boyfriend if you had just stayed together, why you
quit one job in favor of another, what would have been if you made
different decisions. Instead, focus on the here and now and what you
need to do to move forward. Do you want to go back to school? Find a
husband? Change careers? Be more adventurous? Put the spark back in
your romance? "You are in charge of the meaning in your life,"
Kirshenbaum writes in her book. Although you can't predict
everything that will happen to you, you can make a flexible plan to
accomplish your goals. Things like your career path, relationships
in which you'd like to invest and how you would like to spend your
free time are all under your control. You can decide your own
destiny, an important task that will be much easier now that you
have more energy.

[crdurham]

Thanks for this. Oh, how all of these apply to me...reading them really opened my eyes. I will definitly work on these things in the coming weeks.

Living in the past is a big issue for me...its something I struggle with daily.