Call it drive, vigor, enthusiasm, or get-up-and-go. Call it
zest, gusto, razzmatazz, or just plain oomph. It's what gives you ambition,
puts a sparkle in your eye, and fills your day with spirit and glow. It's what
makes you jump out of bed in the morning, fill your lungs with air, and charge
out the front door ready to take on the entire world.
We're talking about the greatest form of energy on earth. It
doesn't come from oil, coal, or natural gas. It comes from your mind.
When the energy is flowing, really flowing, nothing, but nothing,
can stop you. You feel powerful, brilliant, and tremendously alive. You feel
like King Kong with a Ph.D. But, when the energy stops flowing-ugh. You feel
like Dr. Kong after
he fell from the Empire State Building.
If you're like most people, your energy flow can get a little
erratic from time to time, and you'd like to do something about it. You'd like
to boost the wattage and assure yourself of a steady, never-ending supply of
power. Well? Don't just lie there like a
big ape sprawled out on a Manhattan sidewalk! Read the sections below under the
following headings:
A. The Brain in the Energetic Lane
B. Energy Is a State of Mind
C. A Deeper Sense of Self
D. The Will to Succeed
E. Of Body and Mind
A. The Brain in the Energetic Lane
If King Kong hadn't been shot down by buzzing planes, he
likely would have wound up face down on the sidewalk anyway. After all, the only thing Kong did, day in
and day out, was beat his hairy chest and furrow his massive brow. Just what
kind of life is that? "Ritualization leads to boredom, and boredom leads
to fatigue," says Ernest Dichter, Ph.D., a well-known expert on
motivation.
A.1 Dig Out the Root of Your Rut
Greater energy comes from "having the courage to do things
differently from the day before," says Dr. Dichter. "Make yourself aware
that you're in a rut and don't blame anyone else -- you got yourself into it,
you can get yourself out." That doesn't mean you should do something
drastic like change your spouse, career, or address. Making much smaller changes
in your life is generally all you need. Try dressing differently, redecorating
your house, or making love in a different position, suggests the 83-year-old
Dr. Dichter. Professing he has as much mental energy as ever, the senior
psychologist attributes his vim to following his own advice. He's recently been
studying Russian and Chinese and reading a book about baseball (Dr. Dichter was
raised in Austria, where baseball wasn't played).
A.2 Play Hooky Once in a While
Sometimes the kind of change you need is a respite from the hustle-bustle.
Whether it's from the office, the kids, or the coal mine, we're talking escape.
"I sometimes prescribe a day off in the same way a doctor would prescribe an
aspirin for a sore knee," says Allan J.
Schwartz, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and chief of the University of
Rochester's Mental Health Unit. Dr. Schwartz sees lots of cases of mental fizz-out.
He counsels medical school interns who work endless demanding shifts.
What's the best thing to do with your "escape" time?
"Go with what feels right for you," says Dr. Schwartz. Some people
feel wonderful after a day or two lying on the beach, others thrill in taking
hikes or going sailing. "Just because someone else says something was
wonderful for them doesn't mean it's right for you. You have to allow for
individual differences and pick what is most enlivening and refreshing to you,"
says Dr. Schwartz.
A.3 Oweeee! Get a Little Risky
Vacation time, of course, is a limited commodity. So what
can you do the rest of the time to boost your mental reserves? Part of the
answer is to take more risk in your life, says Margaret M. Clifford, Ph.D.,
professor of educational psychology at the University of Iowa. "Moderate risk is what seems to most
interest and motivate an individual," she says.
In studies with children and teenagers, Dr. Clifford has
found that those who take the most risk in choosing and solving academic
problems tend to be better and more satisfied students. Those who stick with
solving only easy problems tend to grow bored and fatigued.
In life beyond the classroom, the same applies, says Dr.
Clifford. To add energy to your life, you can ask for more responsibility at
work, get involved in athletics, try new recipes, sign up for evening classes,
play chess, overhaul a car -- "anything you enjoy doing that involves an
element of risk," she says. Once you've mastered an activity, and you feel
boredom creeping in, it's time to seek a fresh challenge.
A.4 Journey to Points Unknown
Perhaps you're wondering if you can combine escape time with
risk for a double jolt of mind recharging. Yes, you can! Follow the advice of
Stanley Moss, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts
in Amherst. His idea: Arrange a week off from work, and don't make any plans in
advance! "When I vacation, much of the thrill is doing it on the spur of
the moment. That may sound strange and counterproductive -- and in many ways it
is -- but it does add a lot to the excitement," says Dr. Moss, who
recently jumped into his car and drove 3,000 miles to California.
B. Energy Is a State of Mind
Getting out of your rut and injecting risk into your life
may free you from fatigue. But you want more than that. You want super-high energy.
Your next step in this pursuit is to examine your state of mind. "Clearly,
positive thoughts create positive energy," says Richard N. Podell, M.D.,
clinical associate professor at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.
Certainly the main character of the children's classic The Little Engine That Could knew the
importance of positive thoughts: "I think I can-I think I can-I think I
can-I think I can," the Little Blue Engine repeated over and over as she
puffed her way up the mountain.
B.1 Belief in Yourself Is the Spark plug of Your Mind
"I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I
could," the smiling Blue Engine seemed to say as she puffed her way down
the hill. Perhaps it was because she
believed in herself that she had the energy to succeed.
Belief in your ability is to mental energy what sparkplugs
are to an engine. "Many people are too critical of themselves, and that is
what saps their energy," says Richard Ryan, Ph.D., director of clinical
training and associate professor at the University of Rochester.
Dr. Ryan espouses the theory that all of us come into this world teeming with energy. It's only when
we start dealing with other people, and
start feeling controlled and coerced by other people, that our
"sparkplugs" start to miss and our natural energy drains from our "engine"
like oil into a gutter.
The remedy? "Recognize who the taskmaster is. You
control your own life. Seek autonomy and challenge. And take a less critical stance,"
says Dr. Ryan.
B.2 Have a Chat with Yourself
Just like the Little Blue Engine did, there's nothing wrong
with giving yourself a good pep talk now and then. In fact, there's nothing wrong
with looking into a mirror, clasping your hands together and screaming,
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" So advocates Stan Kellner, frequent speaker on
motivation, founder and owner of Yes I Can Sports Camps in East Setauket, New York,
and a former Long Island high school basketball coach whose teams racked up 166
wins and only 30 losses.
To attain higher levels of energy and confidence "you
need to change your personal dialogue," says Kellner. Looking into a
mirror and clasping your hands is a great way to "anchor a feeling,"
he says. That's why it helps to perform this little ritual when trying to sink
positive feelings into your head. Do it as often as you need to, says Kellner,
until you feel energized and brimming with confidence.
B.3 Visualize Achieving What You Want
There's no way to know whether the Little Blue Engine
visualized herself reaching the top of the mountain, but it's a technique that
might work for you. "Realize that you have a success mechanism. It works
by pictures. And you control those pictures," says Kellner.
In other words, seeing what it is you want will help
you attain the energy to get it. Chugging your way up to the top of a mountain?
Visualize yourself at the top of the mountain. Trying to land a
basketball in a hoop? See yourself sinking the shot. Want to write the
Great American Novel? "You have to see yourself as a writer, think you are
a writer, before you are one," says Kellner.
B. 4 Put Your Hopes and Dreams Where You Can See Them
Paul Basist, president of Target Plastics, Inc., visualizes
his goals -- he also pins them up on his bulletin board! The 29-year-old Long
Islander went into business for himself right out of high school and today runs
a company that serves thousands of clients around the world. Friends and
acquaintances describe Basist's energy level as "atomic."
What's his secret? "I make a vision out of my goals and
I look at them all the time," he says. Surrounding his office desk, Basist
has four bulletin boards. On them, he posts magazine clippings portraying his
dreams. "Right now on the wall I have a picture of a house, very stately,
up on the north shore of Long Island, and I have a picture of a new BMW M-3. My
goal is to have these things," he says. If he can't get them right away,
he'll keep the pictures up. "If at first I don't make good – I don’t rip
the pictures down. I leave them up to constantly remind me what I'm working
for," says Basist.
C. A Deeper Sense of Self
Perhaps all high-energy people, such as Basist and
Kellner, use techniques like visualizations to shift their mind into high gear,
but their energy reserves also appear to come from a place deep within. They
seem to have a high-energy attitude, a high-energy personality, and a
high-energy way of looking at the world.
C.1 You Can Find Joy in Any Task
Peggy Jo Kienast became a celebrity when, in 1970, she found
herself the surprised mother of quintuplets. To most of us, even thinking of
raising one child is enough to make us feel exhausted. Kienast, who already had
two infants, gave birth to five all at
once. And, she never used a disposable diaper! How did she manage to keep up
her energy level?
"You don't overplan. There's no point wasting vital
energy worrying about things that may or may not happen. Worry creates stress and
fatigue," says Kienast. Her most important advice, however, is to try to
handle responsibilities with a sense of joy. It was the joy of raising quints,
more than anything, that kept her going through the early years -- and the later
ones, which she says were far more stressful.(Can you imagine five teenagers
getting their drivers' licenses all at once?) "I think my energy came from
getting such a kick out of it all," says Kienast.
C.2 Get Yourself into a Flow
Regardless of whether you're trying to raise quintuplets,
write a book, win a talent show, or build a better mousetrap, whenever you're
in need of more energy, totally absorb yourself in what you're doing. So
advises Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ph.D., professor of psychology and education
at the University of Chicago, and author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal
Experience.
Dr. Csikszentmihalyi says he came to his conclusion while
studying artists. "I became curious as to how a sculptor could spend so many
hours absorbed in his work, and then when the sculpture was complete, just
shove it aside and start another. I came to see that it was the process itself
that was so rewarding," he says. Similarly, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi says he
found the same kind of intensity and high-energy involvement among athletes,
chess players, composers, and mountain climbers.
How can you instill the same kind of energetic passion into
your life? "Transform all your activities into goal-directed, achievement-oriented
activities," says Dr. Csikszentmihalyi. Even if you're doing something as
mundane as ironing a shirt, try to absorb yourself in the process. Ask
yourself, "Can I do it better by doing the arms first? . . . Or by folding it this way?"
Such engulfment in what you are doing, such a flow state, will keep your energy
levels high.
C.3 Sh-h-h-h-h. Mind at Work
What might hinder you from getting into a flow state?
"The unenergetic mind is characterized by distraction, an inability to
focus and concentrate," says John Harvey, Ph.D., director of psychological
services at Allied Services Rehabilitation Institute in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
and teacher at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Distraction,
says Dr. Harvey, comes in two forms: external (radios, televisions, shouting
neighbors) and internal (concerns, worries, objections, duties).
The mind is like a muscle, says Dr. Harvey. Just as a muscle
needs both activation and relaxation in order to perform, so too does the mind.
But the kind of relaxation Dr. Harvey advocates doesn't involve pillows and
blankets. "The key is to consciously rest your mind," he says.
C.4 Take Ten to Meditate
Some people think of this kind of relaxation as meditation,
and that's fine, says Dr. Himey. But he emphasizes that you don't have to sit
cross-legged like an Indian guru unless you want to. As an alternative,
you can sit in a chair with your hands on your knees, close your eyes, breathe
evenly and slowly (from the belly), and relax your entire body from toes to head.
Then (the essential part), "give
the mind only one thing to focus
on" says Dr. Harvey. Try focusing in on your breath, but you can also use a saying, a
prayer, or a favorite place, he suggests. "Do that for 10 minutes, a
couple of times a day, and the mind will restore itself naturally and build up
its energy reserves."
C.5 Show Others the Sign: Do Not Disturb
What about all those physical distractions? Ironically, one
of the toughest places to get any work done is in the workplace. Phones ring, papers
whiz by, and people with coffee mugs in hand mill about looking for a chat. The
best way to keep from getting mentally sapped is to get yourself into the kind
of flow state described earlier. But how, with all these interruptions?
If you have your own office, the key may be in its design,
says Michael Brill, professor of architecture at the State University of New York
and president of the Buffalo Organization for Social and Technological Innovation.
"You need a work station where everybody knows you're not to be
disturbed," he says. Creating that work station may mean facing away from the
door, lighting a particular light, putting a red square on your door, or
closing the door. However you decide to indicate that you are in "flow,"
make sure your colleagues understand that all but urgent business should wait,
says Brill.
C.6 Take Time to Reflect
By the way, what kind of work do you do? Do you work? How's
your love life? Have you written any poems lately? Excuse the personal questions, but these
concern your energy level.
"Every human being has something
that really makes him tick. When he finds that, things open up, life opens
up," says Charles Ingrasci, director of corporate affairs for Lifespring,
a company offering courses nationwide in personal development.
"The next question then becomes not how to get more
energy, but how to use what you have. Zest comes from an inner sense of
direction," says Ingrasci. To get more zest, "sit down and take the
time to reflect on what your highest ideals and aspirations are in life. Ask yourself
what you would like to someday be remembered for. Consider family, career, love
life, and community. Then do something each day to accomplish your
vision," he says.
C.7 Locate Your "Heart-path"
Tom Pinkson, Ph.D., therapist and business consultant, helps
people find their vision by taking groups into the California mountains for
several days of fasting, meditation, and communing with nature. "You're
here not by accident - there's
purpose in your life," he says. A solitary retreat into the wilderness
follows the tradition of Native American Indian culture, in which adolescents
were encouraged to do the same in order to find their purpose in life.
Those who are able to get a feeling of zest are those who
have found their "heartpath," which Dr. Pinson says is "a sense
of a larger mission in life." To start on the road toward finding your
heartpath, "you must look at who you are, and what is not being honored by
how you are living. You must look at what you are doing every day," he
says. If you're not sure that you can do that on your own, look up Dr. Pinkson
in Mill Valley, near San Francisco, and
take one of his trips into the mountains!
D. The Will to Succeed
Life, as you well know, is full of challenges, big and
small. To deal with these challenges, sometimes you need a particular kind of
mental energy, a kind we generally refer to as willpower or motivation. Anyone
who's ever had to lose weight, break a nasty habit like smoking, or force
themselves to do something tough, like sell door-to-door, knows the effort it takes.
Here's what it takes to power your mind.
D.1 Motivation Must Come from Within
For many dieters, the ultimate test of willpower comes when
some thick, dark chunk of chocolate cake or a creamy; sweet, vanilla ice-cream sundae
beckons in their direction: "Eat me-e-e-e.
. . . Eat me-e-e-e!" As
many of us know, gritting our teeth and saying "no!" doesn't always
work. That's because successful weight control isn't just gung-ho willpower
that we turn on when needed. Successful weight control-and success at
anything-relies on long- term motivation.
"Motivation is less harsh than willpower," says
Ronna Kabatznick, Ph.D., psychological consultant to Weight Watchers
International.
Motivation is the capacity to judge how to handle a situation
and stay inspired. Motivation is not an in-the-moment condition."
There are two kinds of motivation: effective and
not-so-effective. The kind of motivation that leads many to diet is the extrinsic
kind-" I need to lose 20 pounds for my daughter's wedding." This
kind of motivation has one serious flaw: once the wedding is over, so is the diet.
The more lasting kind of motivation is the intrinsic variety. "Intrinsic motivation is doing something
for yourself, not for anything or anybody else," says Dr.
Kabatznick.
D.2 Willpower Requires Thinking Ahead
Garland DeNelsky, Ph.D., head of the Cleveland Clinic
Foundation's Smoking Cessation Program, agrees with Dr. Kabatznick. "People
who use only willpower, as in 'gutsing' it out, are less successful than people
who have several active coping strategies," he says.
Part of coping means getting yourself into the kind of
environment where gutsing it out be necessary. "One overlooked aspect of willpower
is that people who succumb usually do so in situations where it's hard not to
succumb," says Dr. DeNelsky. For example, if you're trying to quit
smoking, at least in the initial stages of breaking the addiction, "you need
to get away from cigarettes, get rid of all your cigarettes, and stay away from
smokers," he says.
"Arranging the situation" is very much a part of
effective willpower.
D.3 Confidence Is the Key Motivator
Pete Pfitzinger, one of the top marathon runners in America,
will tell you that running is as much mental conditioning as it is physical conditioning.
"The Great American Sports Myth tells us to give 110 percent. There's no such
thing. All you can give is 100 percent," he says.
In other words, reasonable goals are part of the recipe for
success. When training for the 1988 Olympics, Pfitzinger set up small,
intermittent challenges for himself throughout his 15 weeks of intensive
training. By the time the big day rolled around, he felt confident and relaxed.
And it showed. Pfitzinger ran the 26.2 miles faster than any other American in
the race, just as he had in the 1984 Olympics.
"You need to stay calm in order to achieve your
best," says Pfitzinger. He recounts that the only time he really blew a
race (the Boston Marathon of 1986) was because he "just got carried away
and too excited." Confidence, he says, is the key to staying calm.
"But you can't lie to yourself. You know if you can do it," says Pfitzinger.
D.4 Keep Your Mind on That Pot of Gold
Shedding pounds, quitting smoking, and running races are not
the only situations in life that require getting mentally keyed up. Imagine starting
your own business and having to drum up a customer base by knocking on strange office doors. For years,
entrepreneur Paul Basist did just that, slowly building up his plastics
business by soliciting busy New Yorkers who didn't always treat him with
courtesy. How did he deal with the rejection and keep coming back?
"It's a numbers game," says Basist. "If someone
wants to scorn me, that's fine, because I know that here in the New York
metropolitan area I can walk to an endless number of doors. Yeah, 80 percent
will say no, but another 20 percent will say yes. Knowing this, I like rejection!
Because I know that out of every 100 people, 80 will say no-but 20 will say
yes!
"It's like having a pot of gold in the deep Amazon
forest with poisonous snakes all around. You walk through gallantly, and you pet
that snake on the head and say 'nice boy'- because you got your eyes on that
pot of gold!"
E. Of Body and of Mind
"Energy is not merely mental or merely physical. The
mind and the body are closely interrelated," says Richard N. Podell, M.D.,
author of Doctor, Why Am I So
Tired? If you're not getting proper sleep, if your diet consists of mainly
pork rinds and licorice sticks, and the only exercise you get is manipulating
twist ties, then your body-and your mind-are likely to prance off together into
the sunset and flop over the horizon. These last several pointers are therefore
dedicated to the happy and energetic marriage of body and mind.
E.1 It's 11 O' Clock - Do You Know Where Your Pillow Is?
"The optimum amount of sleep differs for every individual,
ranging anywhere from 4 to 9 1/2 hours," says Ralph LaForge, program
coordinator for the Health Promotion Certificate Program at the University of
California in San Diego. There are three main determinants of how much sleep an
individual needs, says LaForge. First is your genetic disposition, or "how
your central nervous system is wired."
Second is the degree of stress in your life. And third is the amount of
physical exertion you put out during the day.
How do you know if you're getting enough sleep? Dr. Podell
suggests that excessive grogginess in the morning, sleeping long hours on weekends
to "catch up," and nodding off during afternoon meetings or social
events are all signs that you may not be getting enough. He suggests adding 45 minutes
to your nightly sleep time for two weeks to see if you feel better. Or try
afternoon siestas.
E.2 Eat Right, Feel Right
If your energy seems to fade in the late afternoon,
especially on days you've had a big lunch, know that what you're experiencing
is normal. But you can reduce fatigue by eating right. Make sure you get all
the nutrients you need by eating a wide variety of foods. One simple yet
effective way of ensuring a good variety of vitamins is to make your plate as
colorful as possible, says LaForge. Shop for fruits and vegetables from all
parts of the color spectrum -- include reds, greens, and yellows.
Fatty foods drain energy and should be kept to a minimum: no
more than 30 percent of your
caloric intake should come from fat, says LaForge.
E.3 Expend Energy to Get Energy
There's no question that exercise builds mental as well as
physical muscle. Exercise can help relieve stress, dispel depression, and
improve self-image. Aerobic exercise also pumps oxygen into the body, helping
to metabolize food energy more efficiently.
Dr. Podell says that half an hour of brisk walking daily has
made a great difference in the energy levels of many of his patients. For
maximum zip, LaForge recommends an exercise program that not only gets the heart
pumping but also strengthens muscles and stretches them out. He recommends that
in addition to your regular aerobic exercise, you perform strengthening
exercises like bent-knee sit-ups. And at least three days a week, you should
spend 15 to 20 minutes doing yoga-type stretching exercises.
"Find a quiet place, relax the mind, and gradually
stretch those muscles that are tightest," says LaForge. This gentle form
of fitness is particularly energizing to those who work in high-stress
environments.
E.4 Live a Rhythmic Life
While you're reconsidering your eating, sleeping, and
exercise habits, consider for a moment how they fit into your daily schedule. Speaking
of which, do you have a schedule? Your body and mind like regularity, says La-Forge.
You have an internal clock that regulates such things as hormone levels, body
temperature, blood pressure - and
energy levels. You help that clock to work its best when you eat, sleep, and
exercise in natural and regular cycles, says LaForge.
You don't have to run your life with the regularity of a
military parade, but do try not to skip meals, and get up at roughly the same hour
every morning, says LaForge. Your body cycle also benefits if you give the mind
a break from work every 90 minutes or so. LaForge recommends that you get up
from your office desk for at least 5 minutes every hour and a half. A brief
brisk walk outside in the sunlight is about the most energizing way to spend
your break.
E.5 Pause before That Next Sip
The caffeine in coffee likewise can give you a boost. But
over the long run, too much caffeine can make you nervous and jittery and may
interfere with your sleep, which can wreak havoc on your energy level. Some
people are more sensitive to caffeine than others. If you're a heavy coffee
drinker, and you've been tired lately,
the two may be connected, particularly if you've been having frequent headaches
and the thought of a day
without coffee makes you shudder with fear, says Dr. Podell.
If you suspect caffeine is draining your energy, try slowly
tapering off until you can go without caffeine for at least three weeks. If
caffeine withdrawal causes headaches, your doctor can probably help. It's
possible that once you break the coffee habit, you'll find your mind
percolating with newfound energy.
(Boost
Your Brain Power – a total program of sharpening your thinking and age-proof
your mind, by Ellen Michaud Russell Wild and the editors of Prevention
Magazine)
