Ever have one of those mornings where your energy is so low you’re struggling to get out of bed? The thought of all the things you’ve got to pull off is enough to make you want to put that duvet right back over your head?
Even after all these years and all I’ve learnt about well-being, I still have days when all I want to do is crawl back under the covers. Despite all my good intentions about the life I want to be living, sometimes the fears and the failures leave my energy levels running on empty.
Sick of sleep walking my way through life, lately I revisited one of my favorite positive psychology tools to help me tune in more closely to what boosts my energy and what depletes it. Want to see how I found the energy to show up for the life I want to be living?
How Your Emotions Impact Your Energy
Professor Barbara Fredrickson‘s research suggests when we strike the right balance between the amount of positive and negative emotions we’re experiencing, we reach a tipping point that gives us the intellectual, psychological, physical and social energy to flourish.
Fredrickson‘s studies have found negative emotions like fear, anxiety and stress spark a downward spiral of negativity that cause us to feel helplessness, despair and left unchecked leave us to languish with very little energy.
On the other hand positive emotions like joy, hope, love, interest, pride, amusement, serenity, pride, gratitude, inspiration and awe spark an upward spiral of positivity that improves our sense of confidence, self-belief and ultimately move us towards flourishing so we have the energy to live a life we love.
The goal is not to get rid of all negativity. Although it can sap up our energy, negativity that we can learn and grow from is a healthy part of human development. Rather, Fredrickson suggests the goal is find the right balance between the amount of negative emotions and positive emotions we’re experiencing.
While there’s hot debate in the scientific community about what this level might be, it’s important – like any piece of research – you put it to the test to find what’s best for you. In today’s episode of Chelle McQuaid TV, I’ll show you how you can do just this to boost your energy levels.
How To Boost Your Energy
To see what you can do to boost your energy levels start by taking Fredrickson’s free positivity ratio test. It takes about two minutes and she recommends you do it for two weeks to get an accurate gauge on how you’re doing rather than let one day skew your results.
As you track your positivity try to pay attention to what’s creating positive emotions in life and what’s creating negative emotions. Notice how this impacts your energy levels each day.
Finally, experiment with what you can do to dial up your positive emotions or dial down your negative emotions to improve your ratio.
In her book “Positivity”, Fredrickson suggests dialing up your positivity by getting close to nature, performing acts of kindness, ritualizing gratitude, connecting with others and meditate regularly. Try dialing down negativity by avoiding sarcasm and gossip, monitoring your media consumption and breaking the grip of rumination. You can watch Fredrickson talking more about these strategies here.
By tracking my positivity ratio I became much more aware of how my energy ebbed and flowed over the course of a day based on the experiences I was having. It helped to remind me that when the negativity is piling up, I don’t need to just crawl back into bed. Instead by injecting some positive emotions back into my day, I can balance out what I’m experiencing and find the energy to continue showing up.
What are your favorite approaches to recharge your energy? How do you slay the energy zappers in your life? And if you’d like a little help with more practical, tested approaches to play with just ask below!
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