A friend texts in the middle of the day about a current event.
I am trying to protect my energy instead of being drawn into sadness or anger about at all that's occurring in the world, leaving me depleted.
This time, I read the text, and refrained from clicking on the story, because I remembered this phrase - where attention goes, energy flows. If I am not intentional about where I put my attention, I can easily feel scattered, and lack the energy for what matters most.
I see this challenge with clients, too. Whether it's responding to emotions of team members, making difficult decisions to let employees go, or keeping up with the speed of change, managing our attention is vital to maintaining energy.
I focus a lot in my work on thought management. It is equally as important to pay attention to what's happening below the neck, i.e. the nervous system. This includes muscles, gut, heart.
Take stock throughout your day:
What signal is your body giving you? Your muscles, gut and heart are great indicators of how you are really doing.
How are you protecting your energy for what matters most?
Clients have shared deliberate choices for actively protecting their energy. They visualized a protective shield when entering hard conversations, blocked time to plan what they are paying attention to, and simply noticed and named the temptation to give attention to SO many things, thereby giving that feeling less power.
What deserves your attention?