3 Power Routines to Increase Your Energy Levels
By Amanda Da Silva, B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed
5-minute read
We tend to push ourselves as far as we can because we wish to outdo what we did a day, a week, or a month ago.
Overextending ourselves by putting in long hours to meet the rising demands at work leaves us feeling guilty and deeply dissatisfied. This takes a toll on our physical, mental, and emotional health -affecting the quality of our sleep, focus, memory, engagement, and energy.
The main issue with investing more of our time in our professional lives is that time is a finite resource. So, if we’re already at a breaking point, we’re stressed, frustrated, unfocused, and generally less productive because our energy levels are low. Our mind-body connection means that how we feel physically affects how we think and act, and vice versa. We can’t separate one from the other.
What we need to boost and maintain a high energy state isn’t so much outside ourselves as it is learning to listen to our bodies and cater to our mental and emotional needs. Unlike time, energy is not finite. It can be increased, expanded, and replenished. This begins by establishing a set of self-care routines, rituals, and behaviors that we intentionally practice until they become unconscious or automatic.
3 Power Routines to Increase Your Energy Levels⤵
Watch the Video ⤴
Develop your self-awareness
You can’t boost your mental and physical energy levels if you have no idea what is draining you in the first place.
You may have some idea on which aspect of your life depletes your energy levels the most, but chances are, you don’t know how that actually happens. Developing self-awareness means being conscious of not only what it is that actually exhausts you, but the pattern in which it does as well.
You must pay attention to when your energy is highest and lowest in addition to when it tends to take a dip during the day. Practicing mindfulness can help you take note of these patterns to determine the proper actions to take that will allow you to best adjust to the state of your energy levels.
With daily mindfulness practices, you can successfully monitor your energy levels and make the necessary changes based on those fluctuations.
Be smart about how you use your energy
Achieving a high energy state is not impossible, and while self-awareness can help you identify the sources of stress in your life, if you want to effectively use that information, you should also know when to stop and unwind. You simply can’t afford to run around all day completely oblivious to the fact that you need or deserve a break.
The core problem is that we don’t believe we are worthy of taking some time to ourselves. Or if we do then it’s under a particular set of conditions – “I will rest when I have accomplished X, Y, and Z”.
This is a highly toxic belief system that minimizes the efforts you make on a daily basis because you’re convinced that there’s always more to achieve. So, before you can work on optimizing your energy levels, you must learn how to use your energy in a smarter and more skillful manner.
You have to remember that you are a living being, and so you do have certain limits. Exceeding those limits does not make you any more productive, especially if you’re irritated and fatigued. On the contrary, going at a steadier pace and learning to slow down means you’ll be more energized and motivated when it’s time to tackle those big tasks or projects.
Give yourself a high-five
The motivational power of a simple high five is truly amazing.
High fives have always been one of the best ways to encourage, congratulate, and cheer others on.
Giving someone a high five is a sign of trust, support, and appreciation. We celebrate their accomplishments with those high fives, that’s our way of telling them “I see you, I recognize your efforts”, “I believe in you”, and “you got this!”. A high five can instantly boost the receiver’s mood, enthusiasm, resilience, and attitude. The benefits of this simple gesture are very well documented.
In Mel Robbins’s book “The High 5 Habit”, she reveals that high-fiving your reflection works just as well as high-fiving a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker, a partner, or a family member.
Looking your reflection in the eye and giving yourself a high-five can instantly improve your mood, happiness, and energy.
Robbins explains we have a positive association with high-fives that we receive from or give others. That positive programming operates in the same way when we high-five ourselves. This field of research is known as neurobics and uses simple mental practices to generate new neural pathways in the brain by using our senses in different ways.
High-fiving yourself is a neurobic exercise because it relies on a regular activity (looking at yourself in the mirror) paired with an unexpected response (high-fiving your reflection) to bring out a specific emotion (pride, trust, celebration, etc.). This is based on the late neurobiologist Lawrence Katz’s research.
Starting your morning with this simple exercise teaches you that validation and support can come from within.
It also empowers you to find the courage and confidence you need to tackle the challenges of the day.
You get a dopamine boost every time you high-five your reflection.
This, in turn, allows you to rewire your brain for more validation, acceptance, self-love, optimism, and positivity. And so, you begin to foster a better relationship with yourself as you are -not a year from now, not when you achieve X number of goals, or when you get that promotion, but right this moment.
Mel Robbins recommends doing this for five days since it’s a new habit and your mind is bound to resist it at first. But you must push through that resistance to create lasting positive change in your attitude, beliefs, and behaviors.
Conclusion
Your mental and physical energy are central to your efficiency, productivity, mood, and happiness.
Without any efforts to fulfill your energetic needs and replenish them, you will feel utterly exhausted all throughout the day. As a result, your performance, your goals, and your aspirations will suffer. Cultivating and maintaining an energetic, high-vibration state in life starts with implementing the right self-care routines that will allow you to be your best self and do your best work.
Through developing self-awareness, practicing mindfulness, using your energy skillfully, and high-fiving your reflection every morning, you can not only understand your energy patterns but optimize them as well. Ultimately, even on the days when you don’t feel like doing much, you are still accountable for overseeing other priorities that may not require the level of energy your usual to-do list does.
It’s especially on days like these that you need the guidance and support of a personal coach to help you overcome the difficulties you’re facing and focus on your journey toward purposeful living. Feel free to reach out to me. I’m always here to cheer you on and assist you in achieving your goals!
↡↡↡
Discover Your Purpose Course
To help you identify your core values and create an action plan to find meaning and congruence, I designed a values-based, content-rich, course. I can’t wait to guide you through an exciting journey towards a better, more emotionally resilient you! 💞
Get a FREE Motivational Growth Newsletter Every Monday
More Great Articles
for Personal Growth
Hi! I’m Amanda Da Silva.
I’m a mother of two boys, a wife, daughter, teacher, entrepreneur, former CEO, and life-long learner. I’m all about personal growth, community 💕, and being of service. (Find out more about me here.) In addition to being passionate about personal development, I’m an educator and coach with 20-years experience teaching and leading in the BC school system. I have a B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed, specializing in leadership and administration. Creating community and leading thriving teams are two of my favourite things to do. I also love helping people live empowered and growth-oriented lives.
I hope you’ll join me as we build our success together! 🙌
