Written by Tonya Sheridan

In my last blog I talked about the first step in reducing your stress. Now that you have (hopefully) not taken on any new commitments this week or only those that were absolutely inevitable, it is time to identify the energy zappers in your life. I am going to name some of the major ones and although I can’t name them all, when you do the Lifestyle Coaching exercises below, you may begin to identify more of your own.

Energy Zapper number one – “energy vampires”.  These are people who zap your energy, leaving you feeling completely drained. There are actually many different types of “energy vampires” and sometimes it is more subtle.  Just a few examples would be “Negative Nelly or Ned” who never has anything good to say about life or other people or “Fair-weather Friends” who only call or want to see you when they have problems, dump on you and then disappear.

I am going to give you a very simple, yet effective, Lifestyle Coaching tip that will help you identify the different types of energy vampires and learn how to protect yourself. Do this exercise for one month, and you will be amazed at what you discover about yourself and others. Let’s say you are going to meet someone for coffee or lunch. First jot down in your notebook how you felt before you arrived, you can also do this exercise with phone calls. Pay attention to how you feel when you are with this person or talking to them on the phone? Do you feel tired, dragged down or completely drained? Or, does time slip away and you fail to realize what time it is because you were smiling, laughing and having fun? Make a note of how your energy level was after being with this person.  It is one thing to have a friend or relative who you can share your ups and downs with, but another when it is always one-sided. Although you cannot always avoid “energy vampires”, try limiting time with them and spending more time with “Energy boosters”.

Energy Zapper number two – procrastination. Although you may continue to put off something you don’t really want to do, it is always there in the back of your mind and will drain you of your energy. By constantly avoiding what you don’t want to get done, you are not only causing yourself stress but adding more stress to your life as items will continue to become piled on top of an already incomplete “to do list”. The best way to deal with this is to make a list in your notebook of the main items you have been procrastinating about, in order of importance, and do them. Start at the top, number one being the most important, and continue down the list one by one without skipping around. It may be difficult to get started, but once you do you will begin to feel the weight lifting off of your shoulders and you will feel a great sense of accomplishment as well when you cross each item off of your list.

Energy Zapper number three – worrying. Worrying not only increases your stress, it also affects your immune system, your metabolism, your quality of sleep and much more. In your notebook, write down exactly what it is that you are worried about. Now write down what, if anything, you can do about the situation. This will help you get a fresh perspective on the situation. If there isn’t anything that you can do, worry will not only not help the situation but it will make it much worse because you will become emotionally and energetically drained. If there is something you can do about the situation, do what you can, and then let it go.

Tonya Sheridan, Lifestyle Coach

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