Episode 20 – Guard Your Energy

• Do you know people that are always unhappy, complaining, whining, or even angry?
• If you don’t, then I am sure you have seen their comments on social media
• I have seen reviews on Amazon or comments on YouTube that blew my socks off
• Paragraphs after paragraphs – people writing their life away complaining
• How a book they read wasn’t what they expected
• How the blender they received wasn’t as good as promised
• Some of the reviews criticize the person who posted the content,
• Its amazing how mean people can get
• Are you maybe one of those people?
• If so, then this episode is for you.
• I am sure you have had days where you are drained at the end of the day.
• Both physically and emotionally, or either one
• Depletion of physical energy is easily understood by most people
• You are using your body and the muscles in your body, which get tired after some time
• you may sweat a lot, or hurt, your heart rate is up – all visible signs that you are using up your energy
• but have you considered that you also have a limited amount of mental energy?
• Your mental energy is the power of your mind
• You need it to make good decisions, to solve problems and think complex issues through
• However, it’s a finite resource, meaning you don’t have endless amounts of it
• It decreases as the day goes on
• I don’t know about you but when I am aware of something having a limit, I am usually very careful with using it
• When I come home from work, its very hard for me to work on anything that requires a lot of thinking
• I am sure most of you experience the same
• Physically, I don’t have an issue, because my job doesn’t involve physical activity, so my resource have not be en spent
• – I can work out late,
• but mentally I am often drained
• Its normal – as the day goes on, your mental energy is waning and it will be harder to focus and critically think.
• So lets think about all these negative comments
• Do they accomplish anything?
• Are they adding value in any way?
• Or are you just making yourself feel better by blowing off steam?
• I can see how there is a little kick to having it gotten all out there
• Got your emotions all leveled out and really gave it to the other person
• Some people will argue that they mean well, and that critical feedback is good – it helps the maker of the product or service to improve
• In my opinion, if you really want to help, it should reflect in the tone of the comment
• And it should be brief focusing on the facts, not pages worth
• Even some comments that are short are completely useless – their sole purpose is to insult
• I just don’t get it
• Why waste all this valuable time and energy?
• I am going to say it bluntly – don’t you have anything better you would want to do with this time?
• And with your limited energy?
• Why insult and complain people that put themselves out there with something they have created for you – for your joy and your entertainment?
• Don’t we have tons of choices?
• So why not move on if it doesn’t meet our expectations?
• Maybe we spent money on it, but so what?
• You now have lost valuable time that you may never get back.
• The negative experience arrived, and you cant reverse it by complaining.

• I want to highlight two important points when it comes to our energy
• One – Our energy is a valuable resource. Hopefully you have a few goals you want to accomplish. If not, maybe you just have a job you should be focusing on so you can collect the paycheck.
• Spend your energy on that what brings your returns.
• Spend it on something that grows into something else.
• A long drawn out review pumps your adrenaline for about an hour or two, but in 1 month you will have forgotten about it
• Wasted time. Wasted energy
• Two – you want to focus on building more positive energy. Criticizing, berating insulting, those only feed your negative energy even more.
• Its ok to not like something or not agree with it, but why add fuel to the fire? Especially when, as we already established, you get nothing out of it?
• Turn your anger into something positive
• Something that truly adds value
• Be thankful for your choices and the opportunities you have

• And this applies to really anything – not just your time on social media
• What about the times you get worked over nothing? Arguing and going around and around?
• Wasted energy
• Instead focus on resolving the conflict, finding a middle ground
• What about the rage on the road, the frustration when other people do something we don’t agree with, the neighbors dog deposits on our lawn again?
• Is it all worth the time and energy spent getting exasperated, worked up, and angry?
• Think today – whats another way you can respond?
• “next time I wont be angry anymore” often doesn’t work because you have not defined what you will be doing different.
• the opposite of negative is positive
• So ask yourself – how can you turn an upsetting situation into a positive one?
• How can you channel your energy into something useful and productive?
• Guard your energy
• Save it for when you pursue the goal you have since January 1
• Create something instead of complaining
• Build something instead of destroying what others built
• Have courage to go after your dreams instead of your fear which you use to insult others that have gone after their dreams
• Spend your energy on making the world a better place

Winner take all

Really?

Almost nothing in our daily lives is actually a winner take all competition.

Somewhere, there’s someone fitter, faster, thinner, quicker, smarter, more popular or richer than you. And there’s someone else fitter, faster, thinner, quicker, smarter, more popular or richer than they are. And you’re (far) ahead of someone else who is busy looking at you from behind.

And yet we see people angry because someone’s passing their car, or gaining more followers online. They mistakenly believe it’s a race. It rarely is.

If you can use your situation as fuel, fuel to dig in and care more and do better, by all means.

But if not, ignore it. Do your work, not theirs.