This post is by Dr. Peter J. Meyers of 30GO30.
We all live in the real world, and feeling good about life often means recognizing the kind of people, events, and activities that drag us down, so that we can avoid them. So, today I’d like to ask:
What drains your energy?
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Maybe it’s a certain type of personality, or three-hour meetings, or even that thing you eat too much of and know you shouldn’t—but something probably knocks the wind out of your sails.
For me one of these things is politics. I realized after the 2008 elections that I just needed a break from it—I was reading blogs, commenting, and generally obsessing, and it drained me (not to mention that it ate up huge chunks of my day). I think it’s important to be informed, but those activities weren’t helping anyone, including me.
Not all energy vampires are avoidable, of course, but there’s a lot that we do have control over (including our own train of thought), and there are plenty of bad habits we can break that kill our positivity.
If you knew you could get rid of just one drain on your energy, what would it be?
Dr. Peter J. Meyers (“Dr. Pete”) is a cognitive psychologist, accidental entrepreneur, and aspiring non-procrastinator. He recently founded 30GO30, a site dedicated to finding out exactly how much you can accomplish in 30 days.
About Guest Contributor
Just being alive drains my energy, but I think I have a bad diet, too much junk food.
I have finally realized that I am an introvert. The difference between an intorvert and extrovert is where you derive your energy. I found that being with people too many hours in a day is extremely draining to me. I love to be with people and talk, but only for short periods of time. So I try to schedule my days to have time to recharge.
Bernice
A break from our regularly scheduled programming…
@Michael – I think we all have days like that.
@Living – You know, it’s funny, I hear that a lot, and I used to feel that way, but I find I’ve gone from an introvert to a pseudo-extrovert or at least someone who gets energized by being with people more than he’s drained. I guess that doesn’t invalidate anything – it’s just to say that maybe these labels aren’t as static as we think
Negative people in social media. I’ve had to unfollow and unfriend people who are constantly cryptic or whiny or just rub me the wrong way, even if it felt a little mean to do it.
Negativity. Whiners. I literally start getting a migraine when I have to listen to people spew negativity.
I think it’s natural to have bad days or simple complaints, but I think some people get addicted to it and it can take over, beyond reason and really become a comfort zone for some.