Dwindling Resources - Energy (Part Deux)

Dwindling Resources - Energy (Part Deux)

A FEW WEEKS AGO I began to “hit a wall” with my daily workout. Looking for a way to maximize my exercise routine, I researched and found out that for the past year I had actually been overexerting myself. I had been working my body too hard with absolutely no benefit to me physically. What a waste of both time and energy! Why do we think that running faster is always better?

I had this same twisted mentality when it came to my mental workouts too. While trying to balance my work at the office with writing this book, I suffered a total mental meltdown—unable to perform at my peak at either. Bouncing from task to task, I left the office every day mentally whipped with nothing tangible to show for it. Getting nowhere fast, I finally stopped trying to multitask every day. Instead I decided to compartmentalize my life until my manuscript was complete. Taking a day off from work and a day off from my family on the weekend reenergized me for both the writing and the creative problem solving I need to do at the office. When we know that working hard is not always working smart, why do we continue to do it?

To conserve our available power, we must accept that there are positive energy forces in our lives that fuel us and negative energy forces in our lives that deplete us. But we must also remember that we’re the only ones responsible for how much we allow each of them to affect us.

As the keepers of our energy source, we alone must choose the rate of our energy expenditure and determine our own acceptable level of exertion. We must be careful about the battles we fight, the physical energy we expend, and the mental exercises we participate in. Because at the end of the day, we should have mental, emotional, and physical reserves still available for ourselves.

A cheerful heart is good medicine,but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. (Proverbs 17:22)

If you find yourself having an energy crisis, remember first and foremost that God designed us to require rest. Then, after your nap, when you’re thinking clearly, consider who you’re exerting your effort on, what you’re investing your energy in, and how your return on investment is working for you. It might be time to turn off the lights to conserve your energy.