Energy

What I've found over the years, is for me to be successful in anything I want to do, I have to have sufficient energy to get where I want to go. Traditionally we think of energy as physical...do I have enough stamina, am I fit enough etc. Well research has shown there is a lot more to energy than just the physical...so what else is there?

There is also the emotional, mental and spritiual energy that comes into play. These are sperate parts, however they don't work in isolation and one area being low, can and does, effect the others. If you think of it in terms if a car with 4 tyres and one of those tyres is flat, it becomes difficult to steer and uses more fuel to get where it's going...and imagine ifyou had 2 flat tyres!

So let's look at this in more detail.

• Physical is the quantity of energy; strength, fitness, vitality
• Emotional is the quality; positive moods/feelings, ability to handle stress/pressure effectively, confidence
• Mental is the focus; mability to learn/focus, clear thinking
• Spiritual is the force; sense of purpose/meaning, passion, integrity

Thinking of this, you can see how they are able to have an effect on each other. If you're not feeling well with the flu, there is little chance you can handlestress well. If you're feeling really angry about something, try and think clearly. If you do something that is of no improtance to  you, how much does it zap your strength and vitality?

Watching top tennis players is a great way of seeing this happening before your eyes. These players would have to be fairly fit to be out there day after day hitting balls back and forth, sometimes for ours and in incredible heat. So the one that wins, is the one that is more able to manage the other forms of energy. They can be winning and then get a bad line call and they get angry and focus on it...their game starts to fall apart. The inner dialogue as they're serving for the match can have a dramatic impact and many times games have turned around at this point.

Therefore, in order to be successful in anything that we do, we must look at our complete energy levels. If there is an area that is low, then what do you need to do in order to get the energy level back up again? For me, I like to run in the mornings...it wakes me up and clears my head. I also ride my horse and when I do this I have to have a clear focus on him and can't have my mind wandering all over the place. Meditation is my favourite and I'll write a seperate piece on that.

So take the time to nurture yourself and get you energy levels to their optimum so you can be playing at your best. If you'd like to read more on this topic, one of the sources of this material is from "The Power of Full Enagagement" by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.