Energy for Life
by Bob Koehler www.bobkoehler.com/keynotetopics.asp

How much "Energy" we have at any given time has a huge impact on the quality of our lives. As a motivational speaker, I often present my "Energy For Life" topics to teach people how NOT TO WASTE their energy needlessly. In my presentations, I ask people to make a list of things that drain their energy. Here are some of the typical responses I get:

1. Worry
2. Fear
3. Negative people
4. Days when the sun is not shining
5. Poor health
6. Financial problems
7. Problems in general
8. Having a job that is not satisfying
9. Relationships that are not working
10. Being overwhelmed with too much to do
11. Your child’s behaviour
12. Fear of the future
13. Dealing with life’s challenges

In this article, we’re going to take a look at one of these energy drainers:

Drainer #1--Worry.

I think it's fair to say that almost everyone worries sometimes. I have heard it said that more than 90% of things most people worry about never happen. “Worry is a misuse of the imagination." You have heard people say they are "worried sick." That's because too much worry can in fact make people sick. Let me give you a real life example of this:

Many years ago I spent some time working with a group of auto technicians. One of the technicians told me about a prank they played on a member of their team one day (let's call the victim Rudy). When Rudy arrived at work, one of the technicians approached him and asked, "Are you feeling all right?" Rudy responded with "yea, why do you ask?" The person replied, "Because you don't look so good." The prank involved three other people who asked the same question within 20 or 30 minutes of each other. At noon, Rudy went home "sick."  He said he wasn't feeling very well.

Now I don't think this is a very nice thing to do to a person and I do not recommend anyone do this, however, the story serves a very powerful example of how our minds, when put into "worry mode," can affect us physically and emotionally - and even make us sick. One of the best proactive ways to keep the worry time in your life to a minimum is to spend more of your time being upbeat and confident, active, and living your life at the "extraordinary" level.

Too much worry over something can also cause you not to sleep well. I know that anytime I cannot get a good night's sleep, it is usually because of too much stress, which can also lead to worry and fear. When we spend time unnecessarily worrying about things, it takes away from the energy we need to accomplish the necessary things in our lives.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH WORRY AND STRESS

Tip #1 - Get things “off” your mind.

When you feel you are worrying, it is always a great idea to get things “off your mind” by putting them "down on paper.” When we let unhealthy thoughts roam around in our imagination, they can sometimes get out of hand and we can spiral ourselves into unnecessary worry. Writing down the things you are worried about or pre-occupied with can be a form of personal therapy. Very often the act of writing them down allows you to more realistically deal with the problem. By acknowledging those things that can turn into worries, merely writing them down and letting them go within 24 or 48 hours can help you solve your problems.

Tip #2 - Do things for YOU.

People who look after themselves and keep themselves active, like with regular exercise, are less likely to worry over things. Regular exercise is also a great stress reducer. One of the top reasons why people don't start or why they stop exercising is because they get "too busy" or they are focused on the sinking ships in their life. Bad idea! The busier your life and the more stressed you are, the more important it is to take the time to do important things like exercise. You are of very little value to yourself or others if you do not keep your energy up.

Tip #3 - Always have something to look forward to.

If you have become preoccupied with worry, you’ve probably lost sight of the good things you have going for you. By reminding yourself daily of the things you "have" and the things you "look forward to,” you boost your energy and your confidence. When you feel good about yourself and your life, you have much more confidence in dealing with the "problems" life throws at you. If your life comes to the point where you are doing a lot of worrying and you realize you have nothing to look forward to, get something to look forward to - pronto.

Tip #4 - Four words to renew your perspective.

When we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by our “situations” in life and start to worry, we lose our perspective. Doom and gloom is a perspective that we start focusing on when we believe our problems are uncontrollable or unsolvable. The four words, “This too shall pass,” is a way to regain a healthier perspective-- a perspective that allows you to understand that as gloomy as things may seem, it will pass.

Hope is a wonderful remedy to pull you out of worry mode and put you back into solving or living mode. During your lifetime, I’m sure you’ve had your share of bad times. If you think back on those times, every one of them did pass and you are still alive.

Tip #5 - Read books or articles that rejuvenate you.

Whenever we allow our thinking to make us feel worried or over-stressed, we need to have the where-with-all to replace our doom and gloom thinking with positive, upbeat, and energizing thoughts.  Whenever you sense that you are not happy, you need to take responsibility and start getting yourself "back up to where you belong" by feeding your mind with energizing thoughts.  Sometimes a good book or inspirational articles can help you.  On my website www.bobkoehler.com, you will find a section entitled Books to Grow By.  A few that I would recommend for dealing with worry and stress are:

Slowing Down To The Speed Of Life - by Richard Carlson

Prescriptions For Living - by Dr. Bernie Siegel

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff - by Richard Carlson

Your EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY JOURNAL - by Bob Koehler

Tip #6 - Use daily positive affirmations.

People, when they are stressed or in worry mode, have a tendency to use “negative affirmations.”  An affirmation is a statement you repeat over and over again until the thoughts you generate influence your emotional state. An affirmation can be either positive or negative. For example, someone who is down on their luck and doing a lot of worrying may use an affirmation like, "Things are never going to get better," or "Why do these things always happen to me?"  Programming your mind with these types of affirmations is destructive, unhealthy, and almost guarantees to keep you "stuck" where you don’t want to be. People don’t even realize that they’re using “negative affirmations.” It's just their way of dealing with excessive "problems" in their life.

“Positive affirmations,” on the other hand, are designed to help people reframe, renew, and rejuvenate.  Some positive affirmations I highly recommend are:

"It's a Great Day to be ALIVE!"

"I am bigger and better than any problem that life will ever throw at me."

"This too shall pass."

"I plan to live forever - so far so good."

And yes, a sense of humour is really important, especially when things are not as great as you would like them to be. "You are bigger and better than any difficulty life will ever throw at you. Never forget that.” Enthusiastically..............Bob

Bob Koehler is an international speaker who helps to motivate people and maximize their performance at work and in their personal life. Bob presents at conferences, quarterly meetings, and special events.

If you would like to bring Bob’s energy, inspiration, and message into your organization, you can email him at bob@bobkoehler.com or visit his website for more information on the topics of his presentations at www.bobkoehler.com/keynotetopics.asp.

Please note; due to the sensitive nature of the articles the content has not been edited. This is to enable the Author to portray their true feeling surrounding the subject.

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