What will add energy to the system?

Fulfillment means having a horizon to point to.

Something in your life that makes you excited to wake up.

Or as my mentor used to joke, find a career that makes you want to jump out of bed, and find a partner that makes you want to do the opposite.

The challenge is, what if getting out of bed isn’t so simple and straightforward for you? What if you’re the kind of person who struggles to drag your tired bones out from under the covers each day?

You’re not alone. Motivation is hard for a lot of people.

One solution that’s been a game changer for me is learning how to locate natural energy and using it for positive change.

Because among all the resources we have in this world, energy is the one thing that helps make all choices easier. When it becomes the organizing principle of how we manage our life, suddenly tasks that used to feel overwhelming don’t seem so awful anymore.

The question each of us has to answer for ourselves is:

What will add energy to my system?

And to be more specific:

What will add clean, renewable, natural, sustainable energy to my system?

Because drinking sugared water out of a can doesn’t count. Even if your energy drink contains antioxidants, amino acids, essential oils, healing properties, all natural ingredients, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals, that’s probably not the best long term solution to motivating yourself to find fulfillment.

Allow me to share a few of my own energy sources.

First, ideas. They excite the hell out of me. Moments of conception get my adrenaline pumping. They give me what botanists would call geerminational energy. And if you are curious, there is never a shortage of good ones out there.

Second, meaning. Framing my daily actions through the lens of my personal meaning making mission is a unique source of energy for me. It’s simultaneously a muscle relaxer and a stimulant. The meaning making process both sweetens and sustains all of my endeavors. Even the mundane ones. It gives me what philosophers would call existential energy.

My final source of energy is other people. Not from the cannibalistic standpoint, although human flesh is surprisingly delicious. But more as an extrovert. Interacting with people of all kinds fires me up. The electricity that surges between us is magical, even if it’s brief, even if it’s not the most positive encounter.  Matter of fact, sometimes engaging with others triggers my anger, but in useful ways that can be productively channeled. People gives me what psychologists would call interactional energy.

What adds energy to your system? What triggers the motivational subroutine in your head and gets you into the appropriate state of mind to create fulfillment for yourself?

If you’re not sure, or you have lost touch with the energy that once fueled you, it’s not too late. Just keep trying different things. Keep mining your life sources.

Previously inaccessible energy and psychic fuel often shows up when we least expect it.

We just have to stay attuned to our senses.

How could you arrange your work to coincide with your energy style?