Bringing Your Energy to It

Daily responsibilities and obligations can gradually take a toll on energy flow, making it feel at times like there's no room to use your energy in the way you want to. This experience can be hard to go through, and the physical effects that often result such as fatigue and sleep issues can make things feel worse.

Even though chronic fatigue is commonly thought of as a cluster of physical symptoms, much of fatigue starts out on a mental-emotional level and then spreads to the whole body. Energy may actually be available in the body, but it can be difficult to use when it's been blocked from coming out. Energy can then become stagnant or stuck from lack of use. It's there, but it can feel very out of reach.

In today's busy busy world, this is a common challenge. We may have certain uncontrollable factors that define how and where we use most of our energy. Still, it's important to remember that being able to bring your energy to something you care about helps keep energy flowing in the body and through daily life. Wherever you can create a pocket for yourself, bring your energy to it.

If you enjoy playing music when you're done with the day's work, bring your energy to the notes. If you have ideas on a different type of work you'd like to do in the future, bring your energy to those ideas. If you're a writer, blogger, or talker, bring your energy to the words you use. Enjoy exercise and sports? Bring energy to your movements. If you're in very busy and demanding period of life, however, do what you can and when there's more time to rest you'll have more opportunities.

Your energy matters. Find ways to keep it burning for yourself.

Perfect: The Enemy of Good

Why is perfect the enemy of good? Think about it. The message of "perfect" is that you'll someday attain a status beyond which there's no point of trying, or learning, or growing. If you're perfect already, what's the point of interacting with life and getting something out of it?

"Perfect" tricks you into believing that there is a solution and an endpoint.  Do you think that any individual in the history of mankind created something unique by aiming for perfection? It seems to me that more innovative results came from casting perfection to the side in favor of creativity, autonomy, and doing the best you can. If you aim for perfection, you're placing yourself in a sterile bubble by default.

In a bubble of perfection, of course you can see the exact results you want to see in your health, social sphere, family, finances, and personal goals...by omission. You'll have to omit all the stuff that's not going perfect. What does this mean? You'll have to omit a part of yourself in order to reach perfection. Human beings aren't meant to strive for perfection, they're meant to adapt. By adapting to the world around us and the unique events we're each going through, we stay open to possibilities. Perfection doesn't leave room for possibilities. Why? Because it's too perfect.

Next time you're aiming for perfection, ask yourself what your mind, heart, and body are really rooting for. Are they seeking adventure? Are they seeking to break out of a bubble of certainty in order to taste what life is offering? Are they asking you to push yourself beyond previously held limitations to get to know yourself better and what you're really made of?

It doesn't help to seek answers outside of yourself and from other people. Is it worthwhile to get down on yourself because a bunch of people who don't even know you don't believe you can reach your goals? Who knows you better than yourself? These are questions to ask yourself when the dazzle of perfection starts glittering stronger than your true desires.

Perfect is the enemy of good. Remember that when you're asking yourself to jump out of your skin to be something you're not. Is the effort worth the risk?

The #*!*?! Keeps Coming

During life, most of us hold our breath and wait for a time that finally feels calm and accommodating to who we are. Do you know the feeling? We work, try, and grapple, hoping that times will change and things will get easier. After small periods of calm, we're usually thrown back into the mix of stress and ups and downs. Just as you're waiting to get off an emotional roller coaster, life often buys you a ticket for a new one. What's that about?

The truth is, the #*!*?! keeps coming. The illusion that if you wait long enough or try hard enough, that all the messiness and frustrations of life will stop is just that--an illusion. So what do you do? A big part of living in and staying healthy in reality is coming to terms with the #*!*?! Keeps Coming phenomenon. None of us have a human-desired control over life. We live in a world that is wild no matter how we try and contain it. When you live in the wild, you have to prepare.

You prepare first and foremost by taking care of yourself. With the knowledge that storms, lightning, and droughts may be around the corner, you still have to keep up with physical and mental-emotional fitness as much as you can. Preparation helps you to get through new and stressful periods of time that you may not have foreseen (since we don't have crystal balls at our disposal).

You can also make more peace with the fact that #*!*?! Keeps Coming. Have you wanted it to be different? If so, in what ways? Ask yourself if the positive changes you're hoping for live in fantasy land or in reality. Reality tends to repeatedly present challenges with a common theme if we're ignoring the bigger picture. Unless we face the challenge head on here and now, we'll often be met with it again.

Finally, it's okay to step back and not try so hard all the time. Trying your best is admirable. However, some forms of trying resemble banging against a wall over and over again. No matter how hard you try, the wall is still there and you can't imagine it away. Try what you can and be open to adapting along the way to new strategies if you have to. Try with a clear, realistic, and flexible mindset.

#*!*?! Keeps Coming can be a relief in some ways. It lets you be a human in this wild world. It helps you to realize your limits as you're using your potential. Sure, maybe that one person is frustrating you. Maybe that one situation is difficult, but should it be all up to you to solve the conflicted interaction? The workplace is experiencing some tension. Why should it be your job to solve all of it? Ask yourself why you have to sit at home with all of the world's problems on your shoulders.

This week, notice how the #*!*?! Keeps Coming. Let it live and breathe in your life, so that it doesn't completely consume your days and weeks. As you come to terms with the persistent knocking of the #*!*?!, maybe finding solutions to all of life's problems will feel less important. Maybe living your day as it is will become more so.

Playfulness and Health

What is playfulness? If you're reaching for the dictionary on this word, toss it aside! Playfulness can't be described with words. It's a feeling, and it's one that can easily be neglected in this world and in health. How is playfulness good for your health?

When you're playful, you're appreciating the lightness that can be experienced in your life. This lightness naturally supports a balanced body and mind, gets you looking forward to new experiences, and helps you enjoy interacting with yourself and the world around you.

Naturally when stressful times arise it's not always possible to bring out your playful side. On the other hand, how many days or weeks go by for people in today's current lifestyle that aren't riddled with stress in some way? Let's be realistic and say that playfulness can sometimes appear on the endangered feelings list.

Don't forget to enjoy your personality along the way in life. Playfulness isn't all about how you appear to the outside world. It's more about the lightheartedness you allow in your own life, even when life presents you with a regular reel of challenges and missteps. It's a secret joke exchanged without words. It's that laugh you share with yourself or someone else. It's watching yourself, someone else, or your pet do something unexpected and memorable. Playful moments aren't frivolous, they last for a long time.

Handle the daily routines, responsibilities, work, duties, and bills. Just don't forget to play sometimes too.