How Energetic Leadership Can Transform Your Career and Life
These two types of energy determine your success and happiness
Many professionals grapple with how to maintain energy and productivity. Especially in remote work, maintaining enthusiasm and avoiding burnout are critical. Perhaps you’ve recently struggled with balancing your work with all the changes happening in the world.
When things change so drastically and unexpectedly, and our usual comforts or routines are altered significantly, it can be difficult to muster the energy you once counted on to motivate and sustain your work.
It’s important to first understand what energy is and how you can harness it to help you through even the most challenging circumstances.
Essentially, energy is everything.
Physically, it’s what animates our bodies. Emotionally, it’s what empowers us to connect with others and move forward in life. Spiritually, it’s the ability to tap into our intuition and higher self to determine our worldview and then make decisions. Nothing exists without these energies flowing through them.
There are two kinds of energy, anabolic and catabolic.
Anabolic energy is constructive, building, healing, energy. It releases endorphins and dopamine. It’s that exciting, upbeat energy you feel when you’re at your best or doing something you love.
Catabolic energy is draining, destructive energy. This type of energy releases catabolic chemicals, such as cortisol and adrenaline, which actually eat away at our very cells. This energy exists when we feel fear, anger, anxiety. These are all things we’ve probably felt related to the pandemic and how it’s impacted our lives.
On a typical good day, your energy flows naturally. You’re able to tap into anabolic energy to help you get into “flow.” On a bad day, you may experience low energy. If you have too many such bad days, the chronic stress and anxiety will have a profound impact on your health and ability to be truly fulfilled in work and life.
The key is to be aware of when you’re experiencing catabolic and anabolic energy. Most often our energy follows a sequence: we think a thought, we feel a feeling, then we act on what we thought and felt.
For example, if you have an anabolic experience, you may think, “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to try a new way of working from home.” That thought triggers feeling gratitude, which then leads to acting in a state of flow and trying out new, creative ways to collaborate.
Conversely, in a catabolic experience, you may think, “I hate being forced to work at home right now.” That thought triggers anger and frustration, which then leads to stifling your creativity and speaking harshly with coworkers or family.
Being aware of when we’re experiencing catabolic or anabolic energy is essential to not only how we personally function, but how a team functions together. As a conscious leader, it’s vital to bring to your awareness (or consciousness) that sequence (thought -> feeling -> action) and whether it’s catabolic or anabolic. Once you have that awareness, you’ll be amazed by the energy and synergy you experience.
Here are some ways to help you increase your awareness of energy levels:
Notice the things that give you anabolic energy. What feels effortless? What makes you genuinely happy? Those are the things you want to continue doing to boost your energy. Make time to do them often.
Notice the things that give you catabolic energy. What was it that triggered that thought or emotion? How can you reduce those thoughts, or reframe them to a more empowering, uplifting thought?
Notice when your team is experiencing anabolic or catabolic energy. What were the circumstances? Was it a specific team member? What help may they need to boost their anabolic energy?
By being aware of your energy and how it’s affecting your life and career, you’ll step into even great leadership. Sharing this awareness with your team will help them be aware of their energy and how it interplays with others.
The world is full of opportunity right now. We just need to be in the right energy to connect with those opportunities. If you’re ready to learn more about your energy and how to harness it to transform your life and work, let’s connect. Transform your energy, transform your life.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
Meredith’s coaching helps conscious leaders step courageously into the future of work. Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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