How often have you ever said “I just don’t have the energy”.
Or thought to yourself “there’s not enough day for all of the things I need to do”.
It’s easy to think of not having enough energy as being tired, feeling rushed, feeling overwhelmed, or feeling stressed; but actually it goes much deeper than that.
When I talk with other women who are entrepreneurs (not excluding other women, cuz any woman goes through this) there is often discussion of time management, stress management, money management…and so on; but what it really comes down to is
energy management
One of my mentors and colleagues, Michele Woodward calls it the 100 Units of Energy Theory: If you have 100 units of energy to spend each day – and you can’t save up from yesterday because those are spent, and you can’t borrow from tomorrow because those belong to tomorrow – then using what you’ve got to get where you want to go is critical.
When Michele explained this theory a few years ago it made a lot of sense to me. And because I tend to think in terms of food analogies (go figure), I’ve come up with my own theory of the delicate equilibrium of energy.
It’s about pie.
I think of the amount of energy you have on any given day as a pie warm out of the oven.
You have this pie that you get every day fresh, delicious right out of the oven. Pick whatever filling (apple for me please) you want for it, it is after all, your pie. Now imagine that all the energy you get for the day is packed into this pie.
For every activity or expenditure a piece of pie gets used up.
Morning chaos…there goes a wedge
Sucked into email vortex…there goes a piece
Website glitch…swoosh, a chunk gone
Feeling stuck…another piece gone
Focusing on negative ‘what ifs’…another slice eaten away
Stressing over the livelihood of your business…a big slice
Fear…more pie gone
And then there are the insidious nibbles of pie that you aren’t even aware of being gone
Checking your Facebook feed…nibble
Staring at a blank computer screen while wrestling with copy…chomp
Family wanting your attention when you’re working…another bite gone
Not being clear on next steps…nibble, nibble
The printer being out of ink, not being able to find a document, thinking about what to make for dinner (you get the idea)…munch, munch
Before you know it this delicious pie has been gobbled up and not savored.
You know how that is…you are looking forward to having some pie and it’s gone…which totally sucks.
Now imagine that this pie that was lovingly baked from your favorite family recipe went where it would be appreciated, savored, and used to nourish the activities that feed your soul.
Focusing on what you enjoy doing….mmmm
Activities that replenish you….yum
Feeling valued for your gifts…delicious
Connecting with like-minded people…scrumptious
A sense of well being + abundance…delectable
Clients who love how you help them and who you love working with…tasty
Because here’s the thing…
When you shift where the pieces of your energy pie are going; you automatically receive the ingredients for the next day’s pie. The energy is replenished so that the pie doesn’t feel so much like it is being used up so much as it is being savored and enjoyed.
What you feed either gives back by nourishing you or just takes what you are feeding it, so what exactly are you feeding with your energy pie?
Don’t give away your pie…it’s much too delicious.
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