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Nothing can be done without energy. A car without fuel wouldn’t get you to where you want to go because there isn’t any energy to power the engine that moves the car.
If there are two highly talented people with the same level of ability but one of them is lacking energy, most likely the person who is lacking energy will achieve much less as compared to the other who is full of energy because he is frequently lethargic and too tired to take massive action. If we take a look at successful people around us, most of them are full of energy and their high level of energy has definitely helped them to get to where they are today.
Two Types Of Energy
In order to be successful, there are two types of energy that we need: brain energy and body energy.
Brain Energy
Imagine if you are worrying everyday and can’t get negative thoughts out of your head — do you think that your brain is going to run smoothly and allow you to be more creative and productive during your work time? I doubt so.
Dwelling on a negative situation such as being rejected in a cold call or getting a parking ticket isn’t going to empower you and will merely drain your brain energy. Instead of focusing on the negatives, get rid of the negatives as soon as possible (pay the ticket fine immediately and let it go) to allow yourself to have peace of mind.
Here are some ways to build up your brain energy:
- Affirmation – There is a saying, “we are what we eat,” and this is true for our mind too. We are what we think, so by reading our own affirmations daily, we are feeding our mind with “healthy food” instead of junk food.
- Self Talk – Always take note of what you are saying when you talk to yourself. If you find yourself regularly talking to yourself with words that bring you down (e.g. ‘I am stupid,’ ‘clumsy’ or anything that doesn’t empower you), eliminate the bad habit and talk to yourself in a more empowering way.
- Eliminate Complains and Moaning – Whenever we complain and moan, we are draining our brain energy which we can put into better use. If you find yourself complaining too much, find things that you can be grateful for instead of complaining about things you can’t be.
Body Energy
Your body isn’t going to function in its optimal condition if the brain is lacking energy and vice versa. If you find yourself eating too much junk food, overweight by 50 lbs, smoke and drink regularly or lacking sleep, your body isn’t going to give you that extra energy to reach your goals.
Here are some ways that I personally use to help keep my body in shape and to generate that extra energy that I need to reach my goals.
- Morning routine – My morning routine consist of waking up, have a cup of water, 2 sets of exercises then followed by a healthy breakfast. I do this every morning without fail and this habit definitely helps me to get the heart pumping and also keeps me in an alert state of mind.
- Cut Back On Junk Food – I have to admit that it is hard to eliminate junk food altogether — cutting back on junk food will be a more sustainable option. If you are eating junk food everyday, set a goal to only eat junk food 4 times/wk. Gradually cut it down to 3 times/wk and eventually try to make it to once per week.
- 30 Day Challenge – This is a great way to help you create a new habit, made popular by Mr Steve Pavlina. I highly recommend you to start your own 30 day challenge to help you kick start your new healthy habit now.
Parting Words
Taking care of our mind and body will give us the extra energy needed to help us to overcome our obstacles in life and give us that extra push to achieve our goals. How about starting your own 30 day challenge today?
Vincent is the author of HealthMoneySuccess.com. If you like this article, you can subscribe to his blog to receive his latest articles or follow him on Twitter.
Good article Vincent. Many people don’t realize that complaining about things can drain their energy mentally which in turn drains their energy physically which gives them more reason to complain which causes this cycle to go on and on.
Good tips..
Sometimes…If you can manage it, its refreshing to take a break from the everyday routine and do something different.
Hiya
Really useful post. Especially the self talk which either empowers or disables a persons capacity to feel good and explore more of what they can do. Diet is a big area too and I know eating less and healthier combined with regular exercise has worked wonders for me.
The one thing I will add is meditation and/or relaxation as the top 2 tools in my experience for a healthier mind.
Thanks
Jens
Thank you Vincent, this is a real interesting article, i now know why i don’t have enough physical energy, obviously i,ve been draining my mental energy. I myself have started drinking more water & i do feel a little better. Thanx
@Hi Motivational,
The cycle just goes on and on until they stop complaining and put that energy into better use
@Hi Shamelle,
We need to take breaks every now and then in order to recharge our battery. Nice point.
@Hi Kathleen,
Try exercising regularly and you will have that extra boost of energy. It is definitely great to feel energetic upon waking up and exercising will help us to achieve that.
Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
Great article, The point about not complaining so much especially about small everyday occurings is very true and definitly works in eliminating negative feelings.
[...] http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/energy-the-key-to-success/ [...]
Hi Vincent,
I especially like your suggestion of positive self-talk. Personally, I engage in self-talk a lot and I say good things to myself and encourage myself that I have what it takes to make things work.
Thank you for sharing!
Cheers~
Mark
@Hi Chelsea,
By eliminating our complains, we can as well eliminate the negative feeling that we have.
@Hi Mark,
I do that too! The affirmations help me to gain confidence to take on whatever endeavors that I choose to take.
Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
Great article I agree your methods work.
I have distinguished two types of energy which are hard energy and soft energy.
Hard energy is the kind of energy you get at a Tony Robbin’s seminar its when you psyche yourself up with inspiration.
Techniques for achieving are to jump up and down with excitement and psyche yourself up.
With hard energy you are energetic then risk crashing if you don’t manage yourself.
Soft energy is the energy you get from yoga and meditation, or qigong.
I teach a method of achieving this. It starts with meditation and body consciousness.
The great thing about soft energy is with practice you can turn it on when you want and it doesn’t tire you out. You can use it to eliminate tiredness, headaches and tension. With training You can use it heal yourself.
Cheers
Daniel Browne
Excellent article!
Thanks for sharing this with us. Success is a process wherein you really need to immerse yourself; you can’t achieve success if your mind, body and souls want to go in different directions.
And remember, success is not by Chance it’s by Choice!
Making The best Better Team
[...] is a good reminder about how important energy is in building the life of your [...]
Beautiful! It’s it great to know we have power over own brains and bodies? And when we realize how interconnected the two are – even better!
Thanks for a great post!
Hi Vincent,
Great Post…. I am going to start following your tips.
Thanks again!!! Keep up the good work.
Regards,
Varad
Great post,
I actually wrote a post about energy management. Similar concept but a little different angle.
To be energized and present we need to manage and balance our energy systematically.
Thanks, great post
Rarely do we think about the affect of negative thoughts. It makes sense that negative thinking will zap our energy. Negative is a leech.
Your post actually completes one of my post which talks about Intensity….I think energy is a basic ingredient to be able to work with intensity and achieve excellence.
Neat information:D i will come back again