The Energized Woman

Archive for September, 2009

Today’s “Be Well Wednesday” audio blog focused on the topic of supplements for achieving optimal energy in your everyday life.  Listen in to explore whether supplementation might be a good fit for you.

Let me know if you have any suggestions of your own by adding a comment to this post.  Thanks so much!

Exercising our “no” muscle is a proven way to protect our energy.  For many of us, this is a lesson that we continue to revisit time and time again.  The article below offers several great reasons to add the word “no” to your vocabulary and to get comfortable in using it more often.

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Top 10 Reasons To Say "NO"

By Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach

This month I said, "NO, I’m not going to write a feature article this month, I want to work on my book instead." As soon as I said that, I realized that there might be some learning (AND an article!) in that decision. Here are the top 10 reasons to say "NO," in service of your creativity and self-care.

1. To say YES to something better.

Right now I’m working on finishing my book, Ten Ways to Thrive as a Creative Artist. Every moment I free up is another moment I can use towards that!

2. Because it’s the truth.

Telling the truth to people in our lives – friends, family, colleagues – can be very difficult, especially if we think it’s not what they want to hear. But hiding the truth builds mistrust and resentment and clouds over true intimacy.

3. To stretch your "no" muscles.

Saying "no" gets a lot easier with practice. Each time you do it, you’re paving the way for the next time.

4. To create or reinforce boundaries.

At the end of the day, you are the only one who has to be pleased with what you’ve done. When you are, you’ll do your best work and be of the best service to others.

5. To break a habit.

Get out of autopilot and make a conscious choice. You don’t have to do what you always do.

6. To demonstrate your commitment.

Show the universe that you’re ready to receive new creative ideas and opportunities, by making it obvious that you’re honoring your creativity and practicing self-care.

7. To help others to do the same.

The dreaded peer pressure of adolescence and people pleasing of adulthood can both also be applied in positive ways. You can be a good influence on the people in your life.

8. To keep your focus strong and your vision clear.

Wallace Wattles, author of "The Science of Getting Rich," says that when you’re clear about what you want and grateful that it’s already on its way to you, the universe will reward you with it. When you’re distracted by every new incoming possibility (described to me once as the "bright, shiny light syndrome"), it dilutes this scientific process.

9. Because you were wrong.

It’s taken many years of self-care practice for me to get to the point where I will go back on something I agreed to if I realize it’s too much for me. Before, I would always push through no matter what the cost (most often burnout and resentment). Now, if I see that I was wrong, I respectfully renege on my plans by giving as much notice as possible, apologize WITHOUT over-explaining, and move on with a clear mind to what I’ve made room for. If thoughts of guilt or doubt creep in, I try to just notice them and let them go.

10. Because you’re not a perfect superwoman/superman.

Perfection is not required. If you show up and do your best, you’ve done your work for the day and you can be satisfied and proud.

Saying "NO" is something that’s worth practicing. Every time you do it, you’ll free up time, space, energy and focus for your creative dreams.

For more about saying "no," see: http://www.genuinecoaching.com/news/selfcare-jan13-2006.html

For more about telling the hard truth in your relationships, see: http://www.genuinecoaching.com/articles/telling-the-hard-truth.html

For more about "The Science of Getting Rich," see: http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/gifts/everyday_artist.html

© Linda Dessau, 2006.

Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. Feel like your creativity is blocked? Sign-up for your complimentary copy of the popular e-course, "Roadblocks to Creativity" by visiting http://www.genuinecoaching.com

Today’s episode of the Great Living Cafe focused on the energy of being and why it is that so many of us often get caught up in the energy of doing.  This is an area that continues to be a work in progress for me, as it is it for so many women.  If this topic speaks to you, you can listen to the episode below or download it at Blog Talk Radio by clicking here.

Remember to take some time this week to just be.

Green smoothies are a great way to increase your energy and also get some valuable nutrition all at the same time.  If you haven’t tried one of them before, I would highly encourage you to do so.  My kids love them as well, and enjoy helping me make them, so that’s an added bonus! 

There are endless possibilities when it comes to making a green smoothie, but I am going to share with you one of the most basic recipes. 

1 cup cold water

1 pear sliced into pieces

1 banana sliced

handful of spinach

Directions:  Put the first three ingredients listed into a blender and blend.  Then add the spinach and blend again.  That’s it.  Very simple to make and truly wonderful for your body.  Enjoy!

I thought the article below offered a great perspective on the different areas of energy and how they can impact our lives.  Although some of the information is geared specifically toward entrepreneurs, I believe that overall the article shares a lot of powerful insights that are relevant no matter what your work situation or life circumstances are.

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Allow More Success – Pay Attention to Your 5 Energies

As your business grows and you experience more success it becomes increasingly important to pay attention to your 5 Types of Energy to maintain the growth and also to enjoy the journey. Your energy is your #1 most important resource when it comes to growing your business. It’s more important than money, ideas and, yes, even time. You see, if your energy is depleted, you’ll never follow through, no matter how great the idea, how much money you can throw at it or even if you have plenty of time available.

Let’s look at Your 5 Types of Energy and how they impact your business:

Physical Energies

This is the one we are most familiar with, although it may be one we most often take for granted. Our physical energy is about eating healthy food, drinking plenty of water, getting good sleep, exercising regularly and taking care of our physical bodes. I’ll share that over the last year my business has grown exponentially, and I let it become more important than taking good care of my body. Slowly and unconsciously, I started making quick food choices (not the healthy kind), allowing myself to get dehydrated, drinking just one more soda for the caffeine jolt, and then skipping walking and tennis more and more frequently.

So, I started gaining a few extra pounds, getting tired more easily, feeling overwhelmed and having trouble sleeping through the night. It’s also a catch-22 – as I started getting more tired easily, it seemed like it took more effort than I would expect to keep up with my business growth.

As I made a commitment to taking care of my physical energy, everything is getting back into alignment again. I see how my physical energy makes creativity easier, enhances my clarity and physically makes me feel more confident. All of this leads to growing a business with ease, confidence and flow. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

What are you noticing in your physical energies? What is the one place you want to commit to a change?

Mental Energy

Your mental energy is about your clarity, your thoughts and beliefs. We have 68,000 unique thoughts a day – that is a lot of mental energy! Are yours pulling you down, coming from scarcity and keeping you circling in doubt and anxiety? Or are they generally life supporting and business enhancing?

Just developing an awareness of your consistent thoughts can start to shift them. It’s important to notice when you are in doubt, stuck, have fear or anxiety and then shift these corresponding thoughts even a bit to something that is more believable and supportive. It will release the hold on your energy to take confidence and inspired action.

Today, notice if your mind chatter is business-enhancing or business-inhibiting. Just that alone will start to shift you to thinking about what’s possible.

Emotional Energy

Your feelings are your body’s way of communicating with you. Your body is a brilliant communication instrument – it will tell you if it feels the emotions we label as anxiety, love, joy, happiness, stuckness, doubt, concern, and worry. You want to pay attention to your body’s signals: tightness in your gut, expansiveness in your heart area, a lump in your throat, a headache, tingles in your shoulders.

If your body is talking to you and you aren’t listening, then it will get more intense and loud. That’s where simple signals of stress will turn into illness and ailments you’ll have no choice but to deal with.

Notice what your body is saying to you right now. What messages are you receiving?

Spiritual Energy

How aligned are you with your values, your purpose, and your joy? Are you living your life in integrity? Is your business built upon those principles you truly endorse? Any conflicting choices and actions will inhibit your creative flow – which we often call a divine download. It will block your awareness of your connection to source/god/spirit/universe. This happens when we are in a job we don’t like; when we are playing small in our business and not getting our message out there in a bigger way, or when we don’t treat our clients how we really want to be treated because we think we have to do it like everyone else.

Where are you feeling your spiritual energy is blocked? What is one step you can take to open up the connection?

Environmental Energy

The energy around you impacts you and your ability to be clear, focused, in your joy and taking inspired actions. Everything is your environment, from big concerns like the air quality of your community, to the people you hang around with to the clutter in your office. When these aren’t dealt with, they make you irritable, resistant to take action and confuse your mind. So you sit in overwhelm and doubt and don’t move into the action you know that will bring you closer to your success.

What are you putting up with in your environment? What is one change you can make to improve your energy in this area?

You want to remember to be compassionate with yourself. It’s not about beating yourself up because you aren’t being perfect in one or more of these areas. It’s about developing the commitment to these areas of your personal energy and business energy and understanding how they will impact your personal and business in a fulfilling and joy-filled way.

Believe me: you’ll always be moving between all of these types of energy. All 5 will never be perfectly in balance all the time. I don’t believe in balance. You are a creative human being, and your creative nature means that you will be changing, evolving, moving to the next new place. You know that – just look at your business. It’s always changing and growing. That automatically means you’ll be dancing with all 5 energies as you create and move through the evolution of your business. Just by creating awareness in these 5 areas of energy, you can increase your creativity, your clarity, your confidence and your business results!

EN-Joy!

Laura

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http://www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Laura West is an award-winning online entrepreneur and president of The Center for Joyful Business. If you are ready to shift your marketing and mindset for more success with joy and ease, get your free report: Business Attraction Success Kit.

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Today’s audio blog focused on tips and strategies for creating energy-boosting snacks and meals.  To download my 15-minute audio blog to your MP3 player, please click here (just scroll down to the 9/23/09 episode).  Or, you can listen below…

I hope that some of the tips really speak to you and that you start applying them today!

I wanted to share a quick recipe with you that is easy to put together and fits in well with most lifestyles.  Now that fall is here and the weather is getting a bit chillier here in Michigan, I’m starting to use my crockpot again.  It really helps my energy level when I know what we’ll be having for dinner and when there is very little left to do during the actual dinner hour.  Our schedules are pretty crazy on Wednesdays, so dinner isn’t at the same time for everyone.  Crockpot meals make it so much easier to still have a healthy meal to enjoy at different times.

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Recipe:   Italian Chicken

Ingredients: chicken breasts

                   1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Directions:  Put chicken in the crockpot.  Add the jar of sauce.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Enjoy.

Easy sides to add:  a salad or a vegetable

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It happened again.  I’m not sure why I am surprised.  Within the last week some big things have happened.  I’ve launched an exciting new business, which includes creating this blog, for one.  For another, my youngest child started preschool today.  Woohhh…I think I need a break just from the act of writing these events down on “paper.” 

When it’s something I am passionate about (like my business), I notice that I experience a surge of energy and emotion, at least initially.  And with my little guy going off to preschool, I’ve had a whole lot going on internally as the day has been approaching. 

So then what happens?  Well, this afternoon, I crashed.  This is definitely a pattern for me.  I know that I need recovery time built into my schedule.  I really do know this.  But, once again, I did not make a point of scheduling it in.  And now, as so many times before, I was feeling like my energy had been zapped right out of me.

Fortunately, I also know that when I honor my need for rest and recovery, as I was able to do this afternoon, I can then get back into the game and come from a place of renewed energy once again.

What about you?  When you get involved in something new, or something big happens in your life, what do you notice about your energy levels?

Events, both big and small, new beginnings, milestones in our own lives or in the lives of those we love…all of these trigger a range of emotions within us.  And whether the emotions we experience are positive or negative (or perhaps even a combination), we will begin to feel less than our best if we don’t allow ourselves the time to recover. 

How could you start honoring your need for rest and recovery in your own life?

I woke up this morning to a rather dreary day here in Michigan.  Although it’s quite mild outside, it’s one of those days that looks like it is going to be cloudy and drizzly all day.  It really has been a beautiful fall so far, so I guess I really shouldn’t complain.  But this weather does affect my energy level.  Do you ever find that to be true for you, in terms of how the weather impacts your energy? 

One of the things that I love about Mondays, though, that always helps to start my week off on a great note is a Blog Talk Radio show that I co-host with my best friend, Theresa.  She and I began the Great Living Cafe show back in July of this year, and it’s been loads of fun and very powerful, too.  The show is 30 minutes long, and every time I get off the call I am just bursting with energy!  I would love for you to feel that way, too.  Consider joining us for the live show (3:00 p.m. eastern every Monday), or you can access the recording at your convenience.  For more details, click here.  Today’s show will focus on making decisions and exploring what that process looks like for you in your own life.  You can also listen in below  (Note:  due to some technical difficulties, you won’t hear voices until about a minute into the program.) 

(just click on the triangle on the left to play):

I wrote my first post earlier today, and I was quite pleased that it took me such a short amount of time.  However, some other issues with the site proved extremely frustrating.  So it got me thinking about energy drains and what can cause us to take a nosedive during our day when it comes to our energy level.  For me, whenever I can’t figure out something with technology I can feel the energy being sucked out of my body.  I’ll continue to spend time on the issue, and then minutes, and sometimes even hours go by, and I am left feeling incompetent and often helpless.  Definitely not good feelings.  Although I was able to figure out part of the solution, there is still some unfinished business.  However, I have decided that I’m going to go fix a healthy dinner and slow myself down.  This will help me move into a state of acceptance with this afternoon’s frustrations and help me to build my energy back up.