• Fun.
• Easy to do.
• Rewarding.
• and approved by HomeWorkingMom.com!
  
  

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you'll want to take on this month's coaching challenge:

"WANT MORE ENERGY?... IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK!"

To increase your natural energy or vitality, all you need to do is begin to eliminate the things in your life that are an energy drain and add things that give you natural energy. This may sound too simple to be true, but bear with me. The challenge is to recognize the things that are draining your energy. They may not be what you think!

This is the quickest, most surefire way to get someone energized and feeling good about themselves than anything I know. I have seen it happen thousands of times with people I work with personally - beginning with myself.

The first thing to do is identify the things that distract or "bug" you. They could be little, seemingly insignificant annoyances or major community-wide problems. It could be the kitchen cabinets are unorganized, a messy handbag, the car door that squeaks. It could be a job you've been procrastinating on like the taxes, paying bills, etc. It could also be someone else's habit like your friend who never returns your calls or one of your own bad habits like falling asleep on the sofa, always arriving late, etc. And it may be a really big item like the rush hour traffic in your community. All of these things are slowing you down as you go about your daily activities, whether you know it or not.

You probably agree that every action takes energy. Do you realize that every action you don't take requires energy too? In other words, when you walk into your unorganized office past the piles of papers you've been meaning to get to, your energy is slightly drained. Each time you go to wear a particular outfit but can't because the top button is still off, more energy is drained. What do you think happens when you try to wash your car windows and remember again that you didn't fill the wiper fluid? Right. More energy is lost. All of these little items add up to a big drain of energy!

Things you've been putting up with or "tolerations" are like holes in a colander. No matter how hard you try to fill the colander with liquid, as long as it has all those holes, the liquid will drain out. It's like that with your energy. Tolerations are like holes in your "success" colander. They zap your energy, drain you, cause you to feel guilty, not good enough, overwhelmed, and make you feel less attractive to yourself. They may also affect other deeper areas like your self-esteem, and being inhibited instead of "free". They're like brakes slowing your personal growth. You also usually feel a tremendous amount of guilt when you're surrounded by lots of things you should do.

Knowing how powerful this principle is, I almost always begin work with a new client or group by doing a "fresh start" exercise. I also encourage you to do this as your own personal coaching challenge. It goes like this:

First, list between 60-100 things you've been tolerating or "putting up with". Sometimes it is easier to do this if you think of your life in categories. Here are some areas to look:

• Your home environment
• Your work environment
• Your health
• Your habits
• Your relationships

Next to each item, make a note of what it's costing you. In other words, an unorganized office may cause you to waste a lot of time. The closet door that's off the hinges makes you feel poor or embarrassed. The dirty porch prevents you from enjoying peaceful mornings by yourself. The friend who never calls you back makes you feel unappreciated. Falling asleep on the sofa causes you to wake up feeling depressed each morning. Just seeing how these tolerations are effecting you is a major piece of this exercise.

The "tolerations" and "consequences" have to be written down - keeping them in your head doesn't work. Once you've taken the first step in identifying them as things you've been putting up with, something very interesting starts to happen. You will begin to see solutions you never saw before. It's like you're tuned in to a new radar. What formerly looked like a simple missing button suddenly takes on a new meaning: a negative factor weighing against your total success and well being. The whole concept begins to feel like a game, and each time you take care of something and cross it off your list, you give yourself a wonderful gift. The more you allow yourself to really go for it and eliminate the things that have been slowing you down, you'll pick up momentum. You'll get more done in less time, and won't want to stop.

YOU'LL GAIN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY, AS WELL AS A STRONG SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND WELL-BEING.

I suggest if at all possible to give yourself the gift of an entire day or weekend totally focused on getting rid of as many tolerances as possible - as soon as possible. I call it a "blitz". The rewards awaiting you are worth it! You may even want to get a friend excited about the possibility of becoming toleration free as well. This way you'll have an accountability partner. When you've completed your "blitz", go out and celebrate by treating yourself to a great dinner or something else fun and unusual. You deserve it!

Keep in mind that some things may take much longer to completely eliminate, so give yourself several months to accomplish everything on your list. The big items that you feel you have no solution for, i.e. the rush-hour traffic problem, just write them down. Possibilities may come to you that you never even thought of before!

After you've given yourself the gift of becoming a "toleration free" person, don't let it pile up on you again. Take immediate action on things that need to be done so you remain in control. Don't commit yourself to things that will be burdensome and a "drain". Be true to your higher self!

Remember, the less you tolerate, the better you'll be at saying no to anything that would slow you down. AND THE QUICKER YOU'LL GET TO YOUR ULTIMATE DESTINATION!

Have fun!

For additional information on the programs Mary Jo offers and to learn why someone might decide to hire their own personal coach, check out her website at VirtualSuccessCoach.com or send her e-mail at MaryJo@CreativeCoachingSolutions.com