Own Your Emotion, Own Your Energy

Have you ever been around someone who sucks all of the positive energy out of the room? We never want to be that person. And, armed with the right information and strategies, we can help them stop being that person.

Catabolic levels of energy are very destructive to us and to the people around us. These levels are full of judgement, anger, frustration, hopelessness, negativity, anxiety, and stress. 

Awareness of these levels of energy, Level 1 “Victimhood” and Level 2 “Conflict” is the first step to stopping/changing these negative emotions and moving forward. 

Here is a system I use to move from negative “catabolic” energy to positive “anabolic” energy levels:

1. Identify the problem
2. Put a label on the emotion
3. Call it out
4. Reframe
5. Move to a different level

After we identify the problem in our mind and put a label to the emotion or emotions we are feeling, we must do it out loud or we must write it down.

Often times when we say the problem out loud or when we write it down, we have difficulty articulating the problem to the same level of the negative emotion. We shift the problem from our emotional brain to our logical brain. Rarely are things as bad as our emotional response initially makes it seem. 

Next, we need to put a label on the emotion. If the emotion is “Anger”, we need to state it out loud (to ourselves) and then ask ourselves if this emotion is serving us right now. If it is serving us, we need to ask ourselves is it destructive to those around us.

We can turn anger into a positive emotion that provides fuel for the goal we are trying to accomplish. If we cannot channel our anger in a positive way, then we need to find a way to get the anger out of us. Some ways include working out, power cleaning the house, meditating, or venting to a close confidant.

If the problem is still generating the negative emotion, we need to reframe it. Regardless of how bad a situation is, there is always a positive that can come from it. Reframing gives us the power to channel our emotion towards a positive outcome. Now instead of this emotion or situation controlling us, we are controlling the motion and situation.

Once we have shifted to a positive emotion or a positive mindset for the emotion, we can choose to shift to a positive energy level. Maybe that is Level 3 “Tolerance / Acceptance”, but there is nothing stopping us to moving to Level 4 “Serving Others” or Level 5 “Optimism”. 

The most powerful thing about understanding the 7 Levels of Energy is the awareness that we are at choice. And when we are at choice, we decide how we show up and we put ourselves in the best position to be happy and successful. When we are a choice, we don't let others choose who we are going to be. We choose who we are going to be. There is nothing more powerful than that.

Additional Resources:

This week's episode of the Leadership Excellence Podcast, "Maximizing Productivity: The 7 Levels of Energy with Karen Shorey" was all about energy and personal energy management. It was a great conversation with so much valuable information. For more information, check out the podcast or here are the links to some of the other related posts this week.

Level 2 "Conflict" Energy Post and 7 Levels of Energy jpg: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/dannylangloss_the-7-levels-of-energy-credit-karen-shorey-activity-6737351002841722880-XWo8

Level 1 "Victimhood" Energy Post: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/dannylangloss_leadership-energymanagement-activity-6736995315448102912-mPUk

The 7 Ways to View Any One Situation Post: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/dannylangloss_leadership-activity-6738086283555483648-xsgq

The Leadership Excellence Podcast:

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Website: bit.ly/2GlkFNO