Are You Getting Energy From What You Are Doing?

Posted on April 23, 2009 by LJ


Photo by allegra_Last fall I was asked why I was so busy. And as a consequence I cut back — radically — on my extra-curricular activities.

This week a question passed through my email: “Are you getting energy from your volunteering? It’s a good indicator of whether you are volunteering in the right spot.” My volunteer commitments are now a thing of the past, because all of them had turned into millstones.

But the question needs to be asked of other areas of my life too: what about the projects I committed to? Are they bringing me energy or sucking the life out of me? And even though my project list is very manageable (and minimal), I still need to evaluate the items on the list. Some examples:

  • My 2008 NaNoWriMo novel. I’m still excited to be working on it. I lose track of hours while plotting, planning, drawing maps, etc. It’s a keeper.
  • I promised a neighbor child I would teach her to crochet. Which excited me, until her mother got involved, and it became a string of broken promises and missed appointments. Not the child’s fault, but I made the offer. I’m not obligated to submit to anyone’s terms. It got crossed off my list last week.

Each week, as I go through the things on my plate, I have to evaluate each to see whether they are giving me energy. And if not, have the courage to walk away.

Photo by allegra_

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    Comments (1)

     

    1. Fiona from HzJEEP says:
      April 25, 2009 at 12:47 am

      Either in doing our work chorus or volunteer acts, we should doing them sincerely to get the right energy we need, physically & psychologically…