Where does your energy go?

One of the first things I had to learn about having fibromyalgia was that my energy now had hard and strong limits. I only have so much energy in any given day, and it runs out fast. Pushing myself to do more only aggravated my fatigue and took longer and longer periods to recover.

Until then I had not realized how many different ways there were to expend energy, and that certain things take more energy than others. Everything we do in life requires energy, from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed we are using those energies.

We use those energies to accomplish our daily work, chores, and errands. We use those energies when dealing with family matters. We use those energies when we do our paperwork and pay our bills. Indeed everything we do requires energy, and when you run out as easily as I do you begin to become more mindful of that energy usage.

Positive energy comes from doing those things you enjoy most. Playing with your children, spending time with a loved one, snuggling with pets. These things may drain us to some extent, but overall they have positive effects on our energy levels.

Negative energies on the other hand have the power to drain our energy far faster than we may realize. When we allow negative energies to direct us, we can and will see the effects even when we are otherwise healthy.

What are negative energies?

Worry

Worry is a huge energy expenditure, and much of the time it is energy wasted. Worry has never once, in the history of mankind, accomplished anything. It has never paid a bill, cured an illness, stopped a war. Worry accomplishes nothing, but it is a huge drain on your energy stores.

Anger

Sometimes it just feels good to vent, but those sometimes can very quickly become a regular state of mind if you allow it. Anger rarely accomplishes your intended purpose, and it quite often turns a bad situation into something far worse.

Hatred

When we hate another we often see it as a sort of revenge, the problem is hatred hurts nobody but you. While the other person gets to go on with their life, you are continually sucked back into your hatred. Hatred has a way of draining not only your energy but the energy of those around you.

Expectations

While success gurus will often tell us to keep our expectations high, we must remember that those expectations only apply to ourselves. When we expect other people to live within our expectations, we are setting ourselves up for failure.

Resentment

We all have a few unresolved hurts in our lives, much of the time they remain unresolved because we are still waiting for something to happen before we let go of them. We could be awaiting on an apology, or for the other party to learn their lesson, or even on outside forces to remedy the problem. You don't need a resolution to let go, you really don't. All you accomplish when you wait it out is allowing your feelings to build until they are a constant drain on your energy sources.

When you begin to pay attention to not only where your energy is going, but what kind of energy you are using you will soon discover that learning how to live a life without negative energy drains is a path to true peace with yourself and the world you live in.

We all deserve to have peace in our lives, but peace does not come from the outside but from within yourself...