What is the source of your personal energy? Part 1

People often ask me how I maintain such a high level of energy in my life all the time. The questions that often follow are “what are you on?” or “is it something in your drink?”

Well, I do take vitamins and I do love to drink a lot of water and green tea. However, I am quite sure they are not the source of my high energy.

High energy comes naturally to me, partly because of my personality, but mostly because of a few practices and ways of being that I have adopted, internalized and integrated into my life. They are:

1. Maintaining a physical lifestyle that supports wellbeing and high energy.
2. Having a positive, optimistic and empowering outlook to everything.
3. Making sure all my relationships are in communication and complete.
4. Being clear about who I am and what my higher purpose is.

I meet people all the time who have different personalities and styles than I do but are also naturally highly energetic.

I believe that when we live life the “right way” people naturally have a lot of personal energy.

So, I want to share my thoughts and experiences about the source of personal energy. In this blog, I am focusing on the first practice that directly affects our level of our personal energy. In future blogs I’ll elaborate on the other practices.

Practice One: Maintain a physical lifestyle that supports wellbeing and high energy.

Eat in a healthy and nurturing way: There are so many different types of eating regimes that work. And, there are also many that don’t work. The secret is to find the healthy eating habit that works for you and stick to it. Never put yourself in a situation that you feel deprived of food. Find the eating habits that you could enjoy for the rest of your life. If your eating habits make you gain weight all the time, they are the wrong habits. In contrast, if your eating habits make you lose too much weight or make you feel faint, those are the wrong ones, too. Lastly, make sure your eating habits feed your body, but also make sure they feed your soul. If you love how you eat so you could do it for the rest of your life and it is keeping your body in good shape and form – you probably have a winner!

Exercise on a regular basis: Again, there are so many different styles of exercise that work – from running, to weight lifting, to cycling to yoga. Find the one that appeals to you and make it an integral part of your life. If you are injuring yourself all the time, adjust or change your exercise regime or intensity. I was a passionate runner for most of my life until I got injured and couldn’t continue to run. I was devastated, as running had a meditative and spiritual effect on me. It also fueled my life with a lot of energy. My wife introduced me to Ashtanga Yoga and at first I reluctantly took it on. But, fortunately, I fell madly in love with it and I am today as passionate and obsessive about it as I was about running.

Manage your body weight and other health parameters: There are different schools of thought about body fat, weight-to-height ratios, BMI and other health parameters. I use some of them but I am not an expert in these, nor am I a doctor or healthcare professional. I also don’t weigh myself very often. What I do know, however is that when I love how my body feels and looks, and how my clothes fit me, I have much more energy than when I feel sluggish, bloated, overweight or bursting at the seams.

A physically healthy lifestyle is very basic, however it is very powerful, and when adhered to it really works! Unfortunately, many people, even though they understand its importance, and want this, they don’t live this way.

I hear so many people say things like: “I am addicted to carbs and sweets” or “I am not the exercising type.” Neither statements are factual or true. To be rigorous, they are disempowering conversations that people entertain and buy into. The good news is that with the right amount of commitment anyone can invent new, more empowering and supportive paradigms.

I have found from my own experience that when I maintain a physical lifestyle and body that supports my commitments in life, I naturally have a lot of energy all the time.

I was recently standing in line to board a plane and a gentleman beside me had a T-shirt on that said “Everyone wants to be famous, but no one is willing to do the work.” I chuckled and thought to myself “there is so much truth in that!”

If you replace the word “famous” with “healthy” or “energized,” the logic is still true. The conclusion is clear – if you want to have high energy in your life naturally and all the time – do what works!

Gershon Mader

Founder and President of Quantum Performance Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in generating total alignment and engagement in organizations.

His work has encompassed a broad range of industries including banking, telecommunications, manufacturing, entertainment, real estate, retail, startups and non-profits.