I was listening to a new audiobook: Michael Hyatt’s Free to Focus and I wanted to highlight one concept because it pertains to my upcoming course. It comes down to energy and renewal. We’ve all heard of the concept of filling your own cup or putting on your oxygen mask first in an airplane if you lose cabin pressure, but I recently thought about batteries and an analogy to our energy levels. When we are dangerously low (imagine you are lost in some back country roads with a red bar on your phone and almost out of battery or gas in your car), our tolerance for when things aren’t going as expected is narrow. Hang with me, there’s a useful concept called “window of tolerance” and I found this picture which has a lot of helpful descriptions. Click the image for the link.
Bottom line, you’ll notice, when your ‘window’ is small, and life throws “extra” at you, you can become dysregulated more easily: hyper or hypo-aroused. You can feel anxious or overwhelmed or out of control. It’s miserable for you (and perhaps those around you).
Trauma and stress can absolutely narrow the window.
Thankfully, there are many self-regulation techniques that can help expand your window: mindfulness, engaging in hobbies, social connections, healthy nutrition, regular exercise, and getting adequate restful sleep.
Back to Michael Hyatt, he had a list of 7 practices to renew energy and obviously mimic the above.
1. Sleep
2. Eat
3. Move
4. Connect
5. Play
6. Reflect
7. Unplug
All of these renew energy (aka recharge your battery) and can open our window of tolerance. They indeed all help us self-regulate. So when life throws ‘it’ at us, we are able to function and take on new challenges. But what do they all have in common? They require some “free time” and unless you are skilled in making and taking that time for yourself, you end up with a very narrow window of tolerance, and ultimately on “E.” Trust me, I’ve been there. I get it. But with some simple tweaks, there’s another way.
So perhaps the time is right to make TIME for yourself. You don’t have to feel overwhelmed, anxious or out of control anymore.
Heidi
P.S. Have a friend or coworker who might be interested? Please pass along– I’d love for them to join!
P.P.S. Start today: pick one of the energy renewals and focus on 30 minutes for YOU every day.
