There’s one thing that you just can’t do without if you want to live a full and successful life; energy. It costs nothing, is available to everyone, and the supply is unlimited. Yet so many people seem to lack the energy to bring to life the things they would really like to manifest into their lives.
I remember a saying I heard a few years ago which stuck in my mind:
• If you have talent and energy you’ll be a king
• If you have energy but no talent you’ll be a prince
• but if you have talent but no energy you’ll be a pauper
So many aspects of modern living seem to sap our natural energy that in order to stay feeling vibrant and truly alive we have to pay attention to certain critical areas.
Diet
It’s a well used saying but you are what you eat. The standard English or American diet is far from a healthy one. The biggest single user of our energy is digestion and something like a full English breakfast or traditional roast dinner can take up to nine hours to digest! No wonder so many people need to have a lie down afterward!
The healthiest diet contains upwards of 50% of water based foods i.e. fresh fruit and vegetables. A large green salad with every meal and cutting out or at least down on caffeine, meat, dairy, sugar and snacks will make a huge difference.
I recently went through a month long intestinal cleanse and experienced significantly increased energy levels and felt amazing afterwards. If you eat a cooked diet you will have lots of horrible gunge (mucoid layers) in your intestines, which can hinder your digestion as well as being a long-term health risk. A cleanse will help you begin to eliminate these.
Exercise
A lack of exercise contributes to a lack of energy. To build health and energy you need to train aerobically because this is supplies your body with oxygen. Your lungs, heart, digestion, and elimination system will all work better when you are fit.
Research has shown that if you exercise on a regular basis for 12 months, you will do it for life. Put at least three exercise sessions per week into your schedule and stick to them.
Breathing
Our lungs are bigger at the bottom than the top and to get the right intake of oxygen we need to breathe from our diaphragm. Shallow ‘chest’ breathing is common and can lead to all sorts of complaints including a lack of energy.
Try power breathing 3 times a day. Inhale of the count of one, hold for the count of 4, and exhale for the count of 2. For example, if you inhaled for 4 seconds, then hold for 16 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds. Do this ten times.
A word of warning. This can make you go very dizzy because of the surge of oxygen to your brain so don’t do it if you’re driving (I’ve made that mistake!).
A balanced life
To rejuvenate and renew your energy reserves a balanced life is essential. When we work too much or too hard it reduces our energy and we achieve less. The most successful people I know actually take the most time off and lead very balanced lives.
Balance doesn’t seem to happen naturally for most people so it’s something we have to work at and pay attention to.
Emotions
Negative emotions drain us of energy and people who live mostly in states of worry, anxiety or, in fact, any form of fear will find it difficult to feel motivated or inspired about life.
On the other hand a life lived with a powerful sense of purpose, and with a happy, cheerful and optimistic outlook, will do amazing things for your energy levels.
These are just a few of the many things you can focus on to gain more energy. I expect most people could find ways to improve in one or more of these areas. If you had to pick just one and take some immediate action, which would it be and what would you do? Is there any good reason you cannot get started right away?
John Dashfield is a leading business and personal success coach. He uses many powerful and unique tools that help business people grow profits, save time and lead more inspiring lives. Often challenging popular thinking, John’s vision is to help businesses and the people in them live in harmony within the community and the environment as well as achieving financial success. To receive more thought provoking free articles from John Dashfield visit http://www.dashfield.com |