HAPPINESS: Are You Soaring Or Snoring? Handstand Or Quicksand - You Make The Call!

by Eva Gregory, CPCC

Are you greeting each new day with optimism and energy or are you feeling a bit lackluster? Are you dragging in the morning, slogging through mental, physical, and emotional quicksand throughout your work day, when school lets out, or any of those other times you want – and need - to be bright, cheery, energetic?

Whether one is in transition or not, there are times in our lives when we lack that extra oomph, that shine, that spark that makes all things possible – even doable. Why is that?

The reasons can be one or several: career, relationships, finances, home life, health, school, fitness, schedules and time crunches, commutes, even the people we interact with on a regular basis. Any, some, or all can cause us to feel wiped out, depressed, stressed, discouraged, hopeless, exhausted, daunted, downtrodden. We know we should just simply ‘dig deep,’ rise above, and push onward and upward. Yet, at times in our lives, due to one or a set or circumstances and conditions that have changed or added up over time, it can feel nearly impossible to find that spark to drag ourselves out of the perceived muck. We have succumbed to energy drains – whether person, place, thing, circumstance – and need to get our groove back on! This may seem impossible if one is having a hard time finding the energy to pack a lunch AND water the plants.

It can happen to any of us. Take Helen, a single mother of a young boy, who gets up at the crack of dawn to dress, prepare herself and her son for the day, get him to the sitter, then commute 45 minutes to her job. During her work day, she thinks of her son often, feeling sadness that she can’t spend more time with him and worrying that she’ll miss so many milestones in his young life. Day’s end finds her doing the same in reverse: 45-minute commute, gathering son from sitter, arriving home to make dinner, spend a bit of time with her boy, and tend to household chores. Helen is as tired in the morning as she is a night; aware that she feels like she is not ‘running on all cylinders,’ she is trying to find light at the end of the seeming tunnel and knows something needs to change.

Conversely, we have Naomi, a stay-at-home Mom who left a very lucrative career about a year ago in order to be home full-time for her young daughter. Even though Naomi does not have to leave the house, she is finding it more and more difficult to even find the time to get dressed. Her daughter, Katie, seems to have so many needs and demands that Naomi is hard-pressed to get anything accomplished around the house and for herself during Katie’s waking hours. Naomi is exhausted, misses her career and coworkers, feels like she’s spinning her wheels, and is at her wits end. She’s not sure how, but knows she needs to get off of what she perceives to be a gerbil wheel of emotional hell.

Isn’t it odd how unique we are? It would seem that if Helen and Naomi traded places, all would be rosy and full of life’s passion. Since most of us know that is not realistic, what CAN we do to get our oomph back, banish the ‘quicksand,’ and once again, plant flowers?

Perhaps Helen can freelance or maybe her employer will let her outsource part of the work week, so she could perform her career tasks from home; she might be able to work evenings instead or cut back on her hours as well. Naomi may be able to hire a per diem nanny or place Katie in a play group or day care a few times a week; even an afternoon or two would free her to get groceries, clean house, enjoy some ‘me’ time, and even to find a way to re-enter the work force, either part-time or from home.

Both women are aware of how they are feeling and seem to know what is causing these energy drains, but what is the next step? The most important thing we can do when we all feeling the quicksand is to identify the problem – and then, choose a positive course of action with a positive attitude. We need to be able to identify the sources of our energy drains – and then find ways to say “No!” to them (or change our perspective about them) and say “Yes!” to our chosen solutions. How might we accomplish this?

Here’s an easy method:

Take a sheet of paper and draw two lines vertically from top to bottom, separating the page into three columns. On the left-most side, list those things, tangible or intangible, that you feel are sapping your energy. In the middle column, list any possible solutions for each item on the left. It’s okay to be creative. You are creating your own destiny here! Lastly, in the right-most column, jot down how you will feel when you have resolved the issue in the left-hand column. Spend some time with those positive feelings.

Energy, like water, seeks its own level. The Universe is always ready to help us, open doors, promote us, give us all we need – once we open ourselves to that vibrant flow of giving and receiving. It can not do that if we are looking down at our feet. Instead, identify your drains, choose to alter your course and/or your perception, and reach for the stars. If you have been missing out on that joie de vivre and zest for life, you are now in for a pleasant surprise! Seize the day.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You're welcome to use this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "About The Author" info below:)

About the Author:
Eva Gregory, CPCC, is a master coach, speaker and author of several programs and books including The Feel Good Guide to Prosperity. She has instructed tens of thousands in person, on the radio and in teleconferences, seminars and workshops on how to deliberately create a life by design using the Law of Attraction. As co-host of The Jeanna and Eva Show and The Law of Attraction Show on Exceptional Wisdom Radio, she has interviewed some of the most powerfully successful motivational experts today. Her new book, Life Lessons for Mastering the Law of Attraction, co-authored with Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hanson and Jeanna Gabellini, can be found in bookstores everywhere.

 

Copyright @2009 Eva Gregory. All rights reserved.

Comments

[CoachEva]

Hi John,

Love what you are doing on Law-Of-Attraction-Guide.com. And yes, action is absolutely key!

[CoachEva]

thanks Chantal!

[Chantal Beaupre]

Hello Eva,

Thank you again for such an insightful post.

Working as a psychotherapist and a personal coach, I see so many clients like Helen and Naomi struggling with energy drains, and not knowing exactly how to eliminate them.

Based on my Coach U training, I always give my clients some powerful tools to support them in solving the problem. As of today, trust that I will provide them with Eva's tool as well. Not only it highly seems to me like a powerful one for my clients to use, but I will not hesitate to use it for myself!

Warmly,
Chantal

[Law of Attraction Guide]

Hi its John Peace from the Law-of-Attraction-Guide.com, thanks for this article, and as usual 'great insight'.

I spend a lot of time online, researching and finding useful ideas for my website on the Law of Attraction.

It’s interesting reading other people opinions on these laws, and often I see many negative articles and blogs, with writers and readers commentating on ‘how the Law of Attraction doesn’t work for them.’

It’s almost as if they expect some magic wand to make everything better, without any input from themselves.

I do think sometimes that the film The Secret, although it’s done a wonderful job of spreading the word, it has thrown these ideas into confusion for those that think this is some kind of eastern mumbo jumbo.

Quite often I here the words ‘how can the Law of Attraction give you something for nothing,’ and those that say them, have a big misunderstanding of what this is all about.

It’s people like you Eva that show the way, as you say when things aren’t going the way you want them, take action.

And when things are going the way you want, take inspired action..

Thanks for your article

John