Energy Creators vs Energy Absorbers – What and Who Are You Investing Your Time In?

This has been an interesting point of reflection for me for many years and just come back into sharper focus for a range of reasons including an email newsletter from Sahil Bloom I received this morning.

In the newsletter he was reflecting on a recent conversation with Dr. Robert Waldinger who is the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which is the longest-running study on adult life, health, and happiness in the world.

Sahil identified 5 lessons from the conversation as being:

1. Relationship satisfaction impacts health,
2. Loneliness kills (and it's more prevalent than ever),
3. Make social fitness a priority,
4. Check your energy to improve your life,
5. Ambivalent relationships are the most toxic.

All of which warrant a deeper look but for this post I’m going to focus in on number 4, Check your energy to improve your life.

To take a long step back in time to when I was in my mid-20’s and just starting to take on leadership responsibilities. I remember reflecting with a friend how some people were consistently either energy givers and some were consistently energy takers. It's important to acknowledge that while we all fluctuate between these states, a predominant tendency often prevails.

Throughout the subsequent 30+ years there have been many occasions I have noticed this in both personal and professional situations.

I often say the most first important step to influencing our life is noticing things. Yet, what truly catalyses growth is our response to these observations — whether through action or acceptance. ?More time with energy creators and on work that creates energy is bound to have a significant positive impact on your life. Sahil takes this a step further in relation to the content we consume and in his words about content and people:

“After you consume a piece of content, assess your energy level. Did consuming that piece of content make you feel energized or drained? If the latter, you may want to reduce the amount of that type of content that you consume. I believe the same hack can apply to relationships: Check your energy level after spending time with someone. Do you feel energized or drained? Spend more time with your energy creators and less time with your energy drainers. Your life will improve.”

Sahil Bloom https://www.sahilbloom.com/newsletter/5-lessons-from-a-conversation-with-a-world-renowned-happiness-expert

Expanding on this I would suggest adding reviewing the work you do, how much of that work is energising and how much is draining?

I’m still looking for the perfect job (not really as I know perfect doesn’t exist!), but seriously, doing an energy audit in relation to people, content and work is an important piece of self-reflection, and then deciding what you’re going to do about it is an even more important piece of self-development.

What are your experiences and strategies in optimizing your energy investments?