What Are You Plugged Into?
Ever notice how some things sap your energy?
Certain people.
Places.
Or activities.
We can be plugged in to people or things—and they can drain us, or fuel us.
Those circuits go both ways.
I’m plugged in to my kid, for example. That invisible cord sends energy back and forth between us, even if we are not with each other. Most of the time, that life force is a good thing.
But others—as delightful as they may be to you—may draw energy from you rather than give it. They may suck the the energy right out of your spirit.
Or, from the room.
Sometimes, particular activities have that effect too—although I can do them, they drain me more than fuel me.
Binge-watching Netflix can be like that. Or scrolling through social media for too long. Those things can drain energy rather than give it.
What is life-giving to you, versus life-draining?
This could be a fun exercise for this week: Make yourself a list of what is life-giving to you, versus what is life-draining.
On the life-giving side for me:
Laughing uncontrollably with friends
Traveling to the corners of the earth
Reading any one of seven books on my nightstand
Putting words to paper
Time in the sun and breathing in fresh air
On the life-draining side:
Fretting about what’s on the news
Being with people who don’t share similar values
Time in cold, wintry weather
Inauthentic or overstimulating environments
Pessimists or people who like to play devil’s advocate
Everyone’s list is different. What fuels you may be different than what fuels your friends or family. For me, Las Vegas is draining. Too much stimulation. Too much inauthenticity. Yet I know people who love Las Vegas. For me, it has the opposite effect.
We have to listen to our gut around this. Our body will sometimes tell us what is life-giving versus life-draining. Our gut or our heart can tell us which is which.
Sadly, it's not hard to fill our days with life-draining activities or people. But it can have the greatest cost when it’s your work or work environment—when you spend 8-10 hours a day in a landscape that drains you, it can be devastating to your spirit.
Oprah Winfrey once said, “I know for sure what we dwell on we become.”
What are you dwelling on or in? Who are you dwelling beside? And are you satisfied with what all of that is making you become?