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My Energy Odyssey Part 2: Are we all actually suffering from burnout? Try the 'personality test' below to find out how you're doing!
I have always been fascinated with the idea of 'energy'. I once, for example, became so obsessed with the questions of what energy actually is and where it comes from that I spent days in the library trying to get to the bottom of it. I have even wondered whether energy is God! Yet for all the reading I got no further than the idea that "Energy is so fundamental that it is not easily defined in terms of anything more fundamental." Energy, it appears, however much the scientists try and fudge it, is just a magical wonderful substance that makes our entire world what it is. Consider, for example, these two mind-blowing quotations from the New York Public Library Science Desk Reference: "One of the fundamental principles of physics is the Law of Conservation of Energy, which states that energy may not be created or destroyed, only changed in form." And on the subject of nuclear power: "Certain heavy, unstable atoms can be split by fission. For example, uranium-235 will split when it absorbs a neutron. The result is two or more lighter atoms whose mass totals less than that of the original atom; the missing mass is converted to heat and kinetic energy." We have the energy of the entire universe within us! So if a tiny atom can create all that energy... and we ourselves are made up of nothing but millions of atoms... ... Don't all these thoughts in themselves suddenly make you feel at least a bit more energised? In fact, I think the 'science' of the energy going on in each of our body's right now is as much as a mystery as the whole energy of the world question. Sure, you can look at the way that certain boring foods you might force yourself to eat for breakfast can give you more energy... but it's also true that things like watching the movement of clouds, taking exercise (i.e. expending energy?!), simply smelling the right aromatherapy oils or lying on a patch of sunlight like a cat... can have a dramatic effect on how energised you feel. Happiness and enthusiasm even seem to create their own source of energy Not to mention, of course, what is going on in both our lives and within ourselves internally. A person suffering from a degree of emotional problems such as depression, for example, may feel like they don't even have the will to get up in the morning. A person at the beginning of a passionate relationship may walk down the street feeling like they're going to burst with energy and excitement. So what are the factors that contribute to our mental energy levels as it were - and is there anything we can do about upping them? The Mental Demands of Modern Life - and how to lighten them The way that our days sap us of energy is not entirely obvious. We may, for example, have a very full and active day yet return home feeling totally energised by it. On the other hand, we may have a day when we feel that we have achieved or done nothing yet feel totally drained and exhausted. In very simplistic terms, I think the key is that we feel low in energy when we feel that our life or our day is very emotionally DRAINING. We feel much higher in energy when our day or life is emotionally REWARDING. There is a book I have on one of my bookshelves entitled 'In Over Our Heads - The Mental Demands of Modern Life'. It's a pretty heavy book but one of the basic ideas in it is that these days there is so much expected of us. We are supposed to be good at all the aspects of parenting, good at being partners, good at all the many different aspects of our jobs, good at cooking, good in bed, good at being friends... In fact, it's very easy these days to feel that there are a hundred and one things demanded of us - but to never really feel that we are achieving anything. Try this quick 'personality test' to help you find out where you're going... So what can we do about it? Well, like anything else it is up to us to redress the balance. It's your life so only YOU know the answers - but here are a few questions that just might help you find them. If you have a second, open up a new file on your computer and write a few lines to complete the following three phrases (or just scribble them down on some paper). I GUARANTEE the exercise will be worth it. My life feels so demanding because I... (Note that the 'I' is important here because you can only change things where you put yourself as the subject, as the person in power. If you write "because it's such hard work looking after the children", for example, you can't do anything to change that. If you put "because I work so hard looking after the children", however, that gives you more scope for change. In order to make my life feel more rewarding, I could... Another way I could give myself a better sense of satisfaction at the end of the day would be to... You may actually find that your answers are more telling than your solutions! It's not just lawyers or City traders who suffer from burnout In her book The Truth About Burnout, Christina Masclach wrote that "Burnout is the index of the dislocation between what people are and what they have to do. It represents an erosion in values, dignity, spirit and will - an erosion of the human soul." Now, while that all sounds perhaps a little too dramatic and describes an extreme case, I do actually think that there is a degree of burnout present in many adults today. Especially if you have a demanding job and or kids as well, there's little time or space left for who you ARE after you've done everything you have to do. And my answer? Next up on my research agenda is TIME. How we can get more out of it. Stop wasting it. Reduce the amount that certain jobs take. Increase the amount we have to spend on ourselves. I'm even planning a whole issue about the truth of procrastination... Take care 'till next week, Wendy
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