photo credit: stevendepolo
This is a guest post by Armen Shirvanian writes words of wisdom about mindset, communication, relationships, and related topics at Timeless Information. You can follow him on Twitter at @Armen.
Instead of focusing on a set of tasks that you have in mind to complete, you can travel through those tasks in a different mindset by placing your focus on your energy level. If you can maintain a high energy level, tasks will become as easy to work through as tying your shoes. Here I discuss what keeping your energy high entails.
Remain Watchful Of Your Energy Level
Keeping your energy high first involves not letting yourself down. You have the ability to keep yourself satisfied with your own decisions. This requires being on top of all the thoughts coming through your head.
If you have a negative thought about yourself, and ignore or cancel it before it settles, your energy and focus won't be affected. On the other hand, if you allow it to simmer, it moves on to the next step, where it affects your actions and related items, based on this quote by Frank Outlaw:
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
This take a bit of continuous vigilance until you develop a habit of responding quickly to any thoughts or external occurrences that could derail your high energy plans. Here are steps you can take to keep up high energy:
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Start off your morning as you. Wake up earlier than others, if needed, so that you warm up into the day in a way that is controlled by you.
Don't check any news or e-mail or updates until your head is fully functional, and you are ready to respond. There is no need to potentially see the success of others, and spend time analyzing it, before working on your own.
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Do some form of exercise or related early morning ritual to get your energy going. This is you physically telling the day you are jumping into it. It makes the rest of your day solid when you have already accomplished items early on.
Now, as you progress through your day, taking care of what you need to take care of, the vital point is to not let anything surprise your thoughts.
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This is done by staying mindful. You focus on one thing, and remember the high-energy goal, and then focus on another task, but still maintain background thinking of the high-energy goal. You don't need to be surprised or led into depression by any events you go through.
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Let other people know you are maintaining high energy in your efforts. As long as you state it concretely, they might want to join in as well. If not, at least they will know why you are progressing forward at the pace you are.
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Deal with circumstances as they arise. Postponing a task will leave it to steal your intensity little by little. Successful people never let someone delegate something to them that would be perceived as "huge". The minute you see something that might be out of your reach, decline to do it, switch to only working on it until you are done, or pass it on to someone if that fits.
While one person will let a small task take up two of their hours, due to disappointment, frustration, procrastination, and all those useless concepts, another person will handle it in ten fast-paced minutes and get right back on track even more invigorated than before.
Fly Past Mistakes
Making mistakes while you are traveling through the day at a vigorous pace is not even an issue, because what would have been a mistake that cost you a day of time feeling embarrassed or disappointed, it would only cost you a few minutes, and you could cover it up with you next quick success.
Mistakes lose their power over you when you are taking action after action and barely notice them along the way.
As long as you maintain high energy, you can attach accomplishment to accomplishment, not losing hours at a time for nothing. People are recommended to follow their passion because that is where they can roll at constant high energy with much less, or no, chance of becoming de-motivated.
Armen Shirvanian writes words of wisdom about mindset, communication, relationships, and related topics at Timeless Information. You can follow him on Twitter at @Armen.
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
I just love that Outlaw quote, my daughter who is 8 learned it at her Kung Fu camp this past summer and still can recite it.
Was I channeling this post today, even before it was published?! This morning I exercised early, even before I drove my daughter to school. It felt great to begin the day that way. So energizing!
Now… how will I know if my head is “fully functional” in the a. of m.? Any pointers on that?
Thanks Armen! Thanks Tess!
.-= Jannie Funster´s last post…Wonderfully Wonderful Winter =-.
Hi Armen, hi Tess.
What I am hearing is mindfulness and I so agree that that is the key to living a great and productive life.
Setting up the day by mindfully checking my mood and intention works a treat. Closing the day by mindfully feeling where I am sitting with how the day went, gives me refreshing sleeps.
Doing Pilates is great for mind and body and when I notice I am hurrying myself to get to the computer, I recenter myself and get back to feeling my body stretching.
And also readjusting my emotions when I judge something as a mistake has done miracles for my boldness as well.
There is a lot we can do differently to be very productive without running ourselves ragged and you mentioned many of those things.
Love to you both, Wilma
.-= Wilma Ham´s last post…Learning from experience to do things differently. =-.
Hi Armen, hi Tess
I heard an interesting thought on being present in the moment. when we allow our mind to spread out over the past and future we diminish the amount of us that is in the now. When we focus our selves in the now we increase our energy and power.
Quinn
.-= Quinn´s last post…Overloaded at the salad bar =-.
Hi Tess! What a delightful choice! Armen, superb advice! I start out each day with a gratitude rush and that sure sets the tone for me the minute my feet hit the floor. Keeping that mindset going throughout my day assures my high energy vibrations. It took me many years to get here – wish I had your wonderful list a long time ago – it would have saved me from a struggly old time!
Hugs to ya both!
suZen
.-= suzen´s last post…Millie and Additives =-.
“Start off your morning as you. Wake up earlier than others, if needed…”
All the points in this post are great. This is one that I found especially effective. The most powerful and life-changing activities usually do seem to have this sort of simplicity.
A good post and full of energy.
It is very important for me to stay in the now and not keep focusing out or back.. to keep my energy up.
I think with age and some time to myself, I am learning to give up the inner critic which is very helpful and not analyze so much too.
Good pointers and suggestions. Thank you both for sharing
.-= Patricia´s last post…Vitamins =-.
Ah, don’t go to the computer first thing in the day. So true! I know this, and yet…I do it far too often. On the days I don’t do it, instead being mindful of my morning needs, well then my energy all day is totally different. Thanks for the reminder, Armen and Tess.
.-= Patty – Why Not Start Now?´s last post…Meaning Mondays: The Singing Blog Edition =-.
I thought it was an excellent post and great advice everyone should follow. I actually do almost all of the above and feel that I stopped “reacting” to life’s circumstances as a result. I can now live with more awareness and have lots of energy. Life seems to be more in the flow, so I am happy.
Thanks for a great post Armen and Tess!
.-= Lana-Dreamfollowers.com´s last post…How To Clear Your Limiting Beliefs =-.
Hi Tess .. good to meet you Armen .. excellent ideas and so simply put. I agree with everyone else .. the thing about starting the day prepared, be ready for your work and I really like the phrase “Postponing a task will leave it to steal your intensity little by little” – deal with the cirucmstances as they arise – get it done and sorted. Declutter your mind.
The quote by Frank Outlaw is so relevant to us all .. I think I must follow Kelly – Jannie’s little one – and dedicate to memory .. watch ……
Thanks Tess – always good to be here .. nice to read those wise words from Armen – have good mid weeks .. Hilary
.-= Hilary´s last post…The Wigmaker, “Cottonpolis” and the first factory =-.
Jannie – That Outlaw quote sure is insightful, and that is quite interesting about how your daughter memorized it. I had to look it up, as I only had part of it in my mind.
You probably were channeling the post, even before it was published. You might have channeled me to write it in the first place.
To know if your head is fully functional in the early morning, ask yourself if some sort of input could take away your energy. If that is the case, input is to be closed off until you feel you are ready to be the one controlling its intake.
Wilma – Hello to you. I would say that mindfulness sure is a part here. We don’t need to run ragged at all. That’s a good call about doing stretching when you see unnecessary hurry occurring.
I hear you on that point about readjusting when something is seen as a mistake, because mistakes are only as bad as we see them. Thanks for that.
Quinn – Hi to you. That’s a cool way to put it. It makes sense too. If 20% of our time is focused on the future, and 30% of it is focused on the past, that leaves half of our available mind processing for dealing with current circumstances. That’s pretty limiting.
suzen – Hi to you, and thanks. That is an inventive way to start the day. I hadn’t heard about something like starting out with a gratitude rush, but it makes quite a bit of sense now that I think about it. In the morning, when we are most grateful about the new day, we might as well share it.
Your point at the end there sure does allude to how relevant certain information can be.
Paul – Thanks about the post. I sure do like that point, because when I don’t take it into account, my early thoughts can get hijacked by some random input or stimulus of sorts. It helps to be in full control before “engaging throttle”.
Patricia – Thanks there. Your energy will thank you for that focus.
That inner critic might have helped at some point, but it isn’t always the promoter of our efforts. It can be a good critic also, but mainly as long as it is controlled.
Patty – That is a true point about heading to the computer first thing. It might be good to head toward the computer, and then to actually head somewhere else for a while. We can’t let some random news story be the introduction to our day. Good call there.
Lana – Thanks about the post. You know what’s up if you are already handling those items. The times when I follow that set are the times when I become unstoppable for a period of time. Those are great, and are almost like events of their own. Not reacting to all occurrences is a smart thing, because it is easy to spend all day reacting like the world is bombarding us, but that isn’t the way to go.
Hilary – Hi Hilary. Thanks about the ideas. I sure believe in that little-by-little energy reduction from some small thing. It might be some little thank-you note that we wanted to send to someone that will be in the back of our minds for 3 hours, even though it would take 90 seconds. It’s probably good to take care of those items the 3rd or 4th time they come up in our minds.
I’d say it’s worth remembering the items in the quote, along with their order, as it represents a logical way to see how our thoughts impact the other aspects of our nature.
What you’ve said here is energizing in and of itself! I especially loved the part about doing what we’re passionate about because that’s where our energy is naturally high. I have definitely found that to be true.
Exercising in the morning always helps me, too — clears my head and keeps me grounded.
Awesome guest post, Tess; thanks for featuring Armen, and Armen, thank you for writing this!
.-= Megan “JoyGirl!” Bord´s last post…Love, the Eternal Law =-.
Great guest post!
The most important thing for me is “deal with things as they arise” – this for me is the golden rule to pre-paving a happy future. Dealing with things today properly, ensures a happy tomorrow.
.-= Evita´s last post…Evolving Being In Action: Megan Bord =-.
Megan – That is one of my many goals there, so I am glad that it was energizing~. That passionate part is a real thing to use. If the passion does not have high returns, it is worth doing it to recharge energy for those things that aren’t as appealing. There is always a use for items we have passion in.
Five minutes of active movement and/or sun exposure early in the day can make a huge difference. Thanks for the kind words.
Evita – Thanks about the post.
It is tough to deal with things as they arise. Some are easier to handle, though, and are certainly worth doing at that time. Small things become big in our minds, and then later we wonder how a small thing could have gotten so much of our focus.
I love the Outlaw quote and also know it as this:
“What you think becomes what you say; what you say becomes what you do; what you do becomes your circumstance.” (So, if you don’t like your circumstances, change the way you think!)
It’s also been boiled down to: Thoughts become things.
So, following the wise words of Rita Davenport, “mind your mind”
I loved this post not just for the awesomeness of Outlaw, but for this bit of wisdom and teaching that I must be more mindful of: “Don’t check any news or e-mail or updates until your head is fully functional, and you are ready to respond. There is no need to potentially see the success of others, and spend time analyzing it, before working on your own.”
Instead of the 30 minutes I spend in bed after my husband wakes up, I can get up, too…and unfurl my yoga mat…because it’s not like I’m sleeping.
Thanks. I needed to hear that!
.-= Peggy´s last post…Your Moment of Bliss =-.
Dealing with tasks as they arise is a great way to keep our inbox clear. I used to check my email then jot down a note to email someone back, so I could get back to work.
Worst habit ever. I usually forgot to email them back.
Now I won’t check email unless I have a few minutes, so I can respond back and not have to worry about writing them back later.
.-= Karl Staib – Work Happy Now´s last post…Work Happiness Tip – Keep Track of Your Mood =-.
Jannie,
I can’t top Armen’s advice to you so I won’t even try. Don’t ya love this guy’s stuff!??!
Wilma,
You are so amazing with all your wisdom, insights and growth. All the work you’ve done on letting to keep your energy high and your thoughts clear are paying off. I’m beginning to see you all over the blogosphere!
Quinn,
Simply Brilliant!
suZen,
Yes where were all these marvelous people and their stuff prior to the internet? I can’t even imagine having access like we do today when we were young. I did have some great mentors though.
Paul,
Yes and when it’s complicated we bring it in and complicate our lives. I’ve always been an early riser…I wouldn’t have accomplished 1/2 as much as I have without that one fact of my life.
Patricia,
Yes I agree and even though we know this it’s so important to be reminded again and again. Then we have the option of getting right back on track!
Patti,
I’m learning more and more not to go to my computer first thing. My morning isn’t a good thing without quiet time, journaling or meditation.
Lana,
It’s amazing looking back how I used to react. Overhyping situations and over reacting are a rare occasion for me. But it’s crazy when I do fall into it and in fact it’s a reminder of how far I’ve come.
Megan,
Oh yes where would I be without my morning exercise…cranky, crabby and out of control, Oh MY!
Evita,
How did you get so wise. I think that’s a wonderful quote you just left here for all of us. You rock!
Peggy,
I loved the same line and how often do we do it and we know better. But step by step I go sometimes crawling and sometimes running with the wind.
I think it’s the best advice I’ve heard in 2010.
Karl,
Thanks for sharing your progression. I love to hear about our successes.
.-= Tess Bold Life´s last post…Born To Run =-.
Hi Armen,
Wow. This post reiterates some steps I’ve recently taken to make sure my day ‘unfolds” as it should rather than me trying to control it. I decided to wake early to write my “morning pages/journal”. Then to take a short stroll around the harbor under the moon and stars (yep, I heve to wake very early to accomplish this!). This allows me to contemplate, to listen, to just be. Then I wake my children and help them ready for school, or I go to work as peaceful as can be, and that energy stays with me and builds throughout the day. It is also passed to my children and co-workers as I interact with them. These days begin with the best flow and what I find in them is wonder and awe at how well God’s hand guides/the Universe provides when I step back and “allow” it.
As far as “mistakes” I am learning to apply the same compassion and grace to myself as I do to those around me. I do believe everything happens for a reason, it is up to me to be most mindful in life, and prepared for the lesson.
Hi Armen and Tess. This topic is huge! Thoughts have more impact than we realize. I catch myself on days when I’m not feeling up to par, suddenly realizing that my mood is a result of the negative chatter. It sure takes practice to stay on top. Seems the negative seems more automatic than the positive. It “should” be the other way around.
.-= Davina´s last post…Book Review for “The Narcissist: A User’s Guide” =-.
Peggy,
That’s a good point about unfolding your yoga mat during that time. That is a smart maneuver.
Karl,
I like your idea about not checking e-mail or other items until you have time for them. That prevents a lot of headache. I might give that a try.
Joy,
That is a cool routine. You already appear to have the concepts here down, as your early morning procedure is quite healthy. Some others could take an example from yours.
Davina,
That is true about how we get that negative chatter out of nowhere from ourselves. It’s always good to remember that we created it in the first place, or allowed it to fester. I’d agree that positive is not as automatic as negative.
HI Armen and Tess,
Now this is a an awesome guest Post! You talk about energy…and you have found a fan in me for sure. I am all for watching our energy. The minute i feel my energy shifts..my mood shifts..and sometimes the shift can be ugly if i am not mindful.
Hence all your pointers and your perfect advice is just what we all need to read.
Thank you Armen..and so glad i actually read this post..am heading over to your blog which will be just as awesome as this post !
Much love, to both Armen and Tess!
Z~
Hi Zeenat.
Thanks there about this post. I was looking for you as a fan so the plan worked out as created. I sure do watch energy too. Some don’t see that high energy doesn’t come from doing something to get it, but instead from not losing it in the first place.
I appreciate that about the post, and my site welcomes you, if sites had welcoming abilities.
.-= Armen Shirvanian´s last post…An Interview With Gail Brenner =-.
Hi Tess! Hi Armen!
Great advice. I particularly like the lesson of starting off your morning as you via waking earlier to set the right tone for the day. Mornings that I do this (and unfortunately, they are few and far between) are absolute bliss. It really, really makes a difference! It is my goal to wake a little earlier each day so I can make this an everyday practice.
.-= Jodi at Joy Discovered´s last post…Great Expectations =-.
These are great tips. Every morning when I get up, the first thing I do is drink a big glass of water and then take my dogs for a walk. The fresh air is the best way to wake up, plus I’m getting a little exercise. The endorphins kick in and I’m ready for the day.
Take a quick shower, eat some fruit and I’m on my way to work.
.-= Eddie´s last post…The Health Benefits of Calcium Orotate =-.
The meaning in this post has stuck with me, as I went about my day today and yesterday. I noticed when I really concentrated on positive energy, I could get so much done. You know a post is great when it sticks with you as this did with me.
.-= Jannie Funster´s last post…Gratitude =-.
This is a great post and so true how energy level drives how much I get done. Its important to be aware of the food, exercise, music, people as they all have an energy that adds to you or takes away. As I am learning to be more aware of energy, I can more quickly sense good energy and I want to be around those people more. So guard your inputs to your body and it will only contribute to big boost to your energy output!
.-= Aimee´s last post…Take the danger out of travelling with 7 simple and smart safety tips =-.
Jodi,
Hi to you as well. There is nothing like starting off your morning as you, and not as you merged with some random external stimulus. We only lose energy in relation to others, or if we let ourselves down, so the main area of energy loss in the morning is in relation to others. Good call on it feeling like absolute bliss. The sense of self-control is also quite appealing.
Eddie,
That is a cool plan you follow. Water plus movement in fresh air is about as good as it can get for a morning. The shower and fruit seals the deal. Someone with a morning plan like that is way ahead of most. I’d say there is a big difference between those who drink mostly water, and those who drink many other substances.
Jannie,
That is good to hear of. I like when some meaning spreads a bit. That is true about positive energy, or at least about maintaining what we already have so we don’t lose it. I hear you about a good post sticking in the mind, as I can relate there. Cool stuff.
Aimee,
Thanks about the post. Those are all valid examples of items to be watchful of. I am pretty sure that you couldn’t pay some big CEOs or businesspeople to do certain things that would take away from their allotment of energy. They know where their focus needs to be. That is cool that your sense of those with a good aura is increased. The difference in how this effort can make our day is only noticeable to those who try.
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