Do You Suffer From Any of These Energy Drains?

In our fast-paced, twenty-four hour society we are constantly distracted and diverted from working on what we should be working on. It creates lives of almost habitual scatteredness. Focus is the sine qua non of reaching our potential. This scatteredness is largely responsible for draining us of the energy we need to accomplish our goals. Additionally, in Success 101, John Maxwell outlines three difficult situations that we need to be aware of and learn to manage around:

Activity Without Direction – doing things that don’t seem to matter
Burden Without Action – not being able to do things that really matter
Conflict Without Resolution – not being able to deal with what’s the matter

These sap our energy because they chip away at our dignity and needlessly undermine our ability to focus. If we find ourselves faced with any of these difficult circumstances, we need to work extra hard to manage around them. The first step to accomplishing this is seeing the big picture and knowing our part in it. Knowing our purpose can insulate us from many of the external distractions we face on a daily basis.

Maxwell writes, “The better you are at making sure you’re doing what you should be doing, the better chance you have for making an impact on others and being successful.” At the same time, not all stress is bad. We need to look for opportunities within our circumstances to expand our capacity. Loehr and Schwartz write in The Power of Full Engagement, that "Any form of stress that prompts discomfort has the potential to expand our capacity—physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually—so long as it is followed by adequate recovery." It’s part of learning to manage yourself exceptionally well.