Balancing our energy accounts
I was talking to a good friend recently about how our body always lets us know when we are off balance. Sometimes we may find that we have “simply” spent more emotional, physical, spiritual or nutritional gas than we had put in our tanks. Sometimes we may find that we are not feelings as if we have settled into a new space or a new phase of our life. It is as if the molecules which comprise our physical and spiritual body have not yet “arrived’ in the new location.
If we are not paying attention we may attempt to force ourselves to “carry on” with the commitments we have inked in our calendars. It often is as if our calendars now are in charge even if theoretically we and/or our partner or colleagues have been in charge of the schedule. Of course, there are those few emergencies such as a partner or other loved one who is taking their last breaths and we desperately want and need to be by their sides. Yet, assuming we have been very intentional with letting them know we love them and, if needed, we have forgiven them or made amends, there is really not an emergency. Of course, if one is a surgeon it is better if one can show up and perform the scheduled surgery assuming that one is in a condition to be competent. Optimally one makes the best possible educated guesses in planning one’s schedules. In the end we must, of course, accept that we are not, after all, the center of the universe and subject to internal and external forces beyond our control.
There are those who experience the slightest drop in energy or a visit by anxiety as a stop sign and find themselves glued to the nearest couch or bed which is safely enclosed in a protective shield of a bed, room, or house. They may need some help in accessing their actual energy levels.
One may be lucky enough to have a partner or someone else who can help access the balance in one’s energy account. My friend’s 14-year-old son seem to be able to make pretty accurate assessments of his mother’s energy balance. Sometimes a partner, a health care professional or someone else can also be very helpful.
Most important is some system for not consistently identifying one’s energy account balance. Consistent deficit spending will likely result in some of the following symptoms:
One’s body may be letting one know that one is getting physically ill; that one needs to see one’s primary care physician. He or she may order some basic blood work and some other tests. If they are unable to identify the problem they may refer one to a specialist for further assessment. Sometimes the specialist may be a mental health professional who makes some helpful recommendations. On the other hand, the referral to a mental health professional may be premature. Occasionally one is told that the cause of the symptoms is “all in one’s head” when, in fact, there is a difficult to detect tumor or some other condition which needs surgery or some treatment other than talk therapy.
Our bodies are exceptionally fine-tuned, amazing, carefully balanced machines. When unbalanced or “out of sorts” they always let us know. We, our loved one and colleagues need to be practicing active listening to help identify when a system is unbalanced.
Written July 1, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
I was talking to a good friend recently about how our body always lets us know when we are off balance. Sometimes we may find that we have “simply” spent more emotional, physical, spiritual or nutritional gas than we had put in our tanks. Sometimes we may find that we are not feelings as if we have settled into a new space or a new phase of our life. It is as if the molecules which comprise our physical and spiritual body have not yet “arrived’ in the new location.
If we are not paying attention we may attempt to force ourselves to “carry on” with the commitments we have inked in our calendars. It often is as if our calendars now are in charge even if theoretically we and/or our partner or colleagues have been in charge of the schedule. Of course, there are those few emergencies such as a partner or other loved one who is taking their last breaths and we desperately want and need to be by their sides. Yet, assuming we have been very intentional with letting them know we love them and, if needed, we have forgiven them or made amends, there is really not an emergency. Of course, if one is a surgeon it is better if one can show up and perform the scheduled surgery assuming that one is in a condition to be competent. Optimally one makes the best possible educated guesses in planning one’s schedules. In the end we must, of course, accept that we are not, after all, the center of the universe and subject to internal and external forces beyond our control.
There are those who experience the slightest drop in energy or a visit by anxiety as a stop sign and find themselves glued to the nearest couch or bed which is safely enclosed in a protective shield of a bed, room, or house. They may need some help in accessing their actual energy levels.
One may be lucky enough to have a partner or someone else who can help access the balance in one’s energy account. My friend’s 14-year-old son seem to be able to make pretty accurate assessments of his mother’s energy balance. Sometimes a partner, a health care professional or someone else can also be very helpful.
Most important is some system for not consistently identifying one’s energy account balance. Consistent deficit spending will likely result in some of the following symptoms:
- Suddenly noticing that everyone in one’s beloved family or all one’s co-workers are terrible people who one cannot trust and who one does not like.
- Noticing that one’s body is unhappy with abnormal physical symptoms.
- Noticing that one cannot focus or is going over the same material 20 times without getting the job done.
- Noticing that one is suddenly getting easily distracted or forgetting to complete tasks.
- Noticing one is too tried to rest or sleep.
- Noticing one is using high levels of caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, or “pills” just to function.
One’s body may be letting one know that one is getting physically ill; that one needs to see one’s primary care physician. He or she may order some basic blood work and some other tests. If they are unable to identify the problem they may refer one to a specialist for further assessment. Sometimes the specialist may be a mental health professional who makes some helpful recommendations. On the other hand, the referral to a mental health professional may be premature. Occasionally one is told that the cause of the symptoms is “all in one’s head” when, in fact, there is a difficult to detect tumor or some other condition which needs surgery or some treatment other than talk therapy.
Our bodies are exceptionally fine-tuned, amazing, carefully balanced machines. When unbalanced or “out of sorts” they always let us know. We, our loved one and colleagues need to be practicing active listening to help identify when a system is unbalanced.
Written July 1, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
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