"The pain and stress and anger and sadness and loneliness and frustration and fear and cravings and irritations that we will experience today … they are made up. We can let them go as easily as they arise. They are unnecessary, if we realize that we’ve created them for no good reason."
- Leo Babauta, Zen Habit
This blog took a bit more time to write than usual because the topic is so nuanced and we weren’t quite sure how to explain it without running the risk of sounding too new-agey in our thinking. But here’s the thing – this issue is one of the biggest drivers of change in our daily experiences, that it would be downright irresponsible for us not to mention it.
So here it is:
Your energy attracts who comes into your space and how your day is affected by it.
Here’s an example. As your girls trotted off to the east coast a while back, we experienced the typical annoyances of traveling: missing out on sleep, babies on a plane, having that non-reclining seat in the last row... this list can really go on but we'll stop here. With all of the hustle and bustle and different people we encountered, we noticed one glaring quality that seemed to separate the delightful interactions with the not so lovely conversations and circumstances.
The delightful people all had a lighthearted outlook on their day. Their energy was warm, open and optimistic. Being around them felt like a breath of fresh air and we were not only pleasantly surprised by the interaction but actually energized after being around them.
Then there were some folks we ran into that seemed to have a perma-scowl on their face. They seemed to find a way to hamper the moment, or just anticipated something going wrong at every turn. And this was not only reflected in the words they said but in the energy they gave off. One word to describe what if felt like being around them – cumbersome. Everything in their presence seemed more difficult than necessary.
Take a few moments to reflect on how your own daily experiences have been lately.
Does every experience seem to disappoint or can you find the delight in just about everything? Does life feel easy & breezy or difficult & cumbersome?
Below we've included an article illustrating how a subtle, one-word shift can change an attitude and positively affect the circumstances around getting things done. You'll also find articles on what to do when you find yourself surrounded by cumbersome people and a great article about how to make sure you’re not unknowingly sucking energy from other people in the room. To round it all out, What’s Your Daily Fix provides an example of how to put all of your experiences into perspective and help you see past the petty grievances that might be taking up your energy and diminishing your joy. If you’ve been uptight recently or want to keep the good vibes going, be sure to check these out. Your energy has the power to attract obstacles or optimism and you get to decide which!
ADDITIONAL MUST READ ARTICLES TO HELP YOU CHANGE YOUR ENERGY: