Penny Casselman:
One of the biggest differences between high performers and everybody else is they don't let their energy leaks go unchecked. I am constantly a work in progress. However, when I feel drained or I notice that things are feeling off, you bet I pause and really reflect on why that is and what I could do differently to help ensure I maintain that positive energy to move me forward. And that energy awareness is one of the 10 foundational pieces that as a high performance coach, I help people explore and really master. Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life.
Penny Casselman:
Regardless of where you came from, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage, and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion. Hello, director. I don't know where the time goes. It feels like I was just sitting in this seat recording for you a week ago, which I was, but suddenly I'm here again. Mind blown. When this episode drops, we find ourselves at the top of a fresh month.
Penny Casselman:
If you follow the cadence of a corporate calendar, it is also the start of q two. But fear not. There is still time, plenty of time, to course correct and get yourself back on a good track so that you do finish the year strong, you do finish the quarter strong, and you hit all the big goals that you set for yourself in January. Let me ask this. How often do you find yourself saying, man, I'm drained? Here's the thing. It is not always about getting more sleep or having another cup of coffee. What I want to dive into today is the concept of energy leaks. We might lose little drops of energy through our day in ways that you might not even yet be aware of.
Penny Casselman:
But what happens over time is that if you don't take a moment, take a beat, take a pause to think about where those leaks are coming from within your energy, there's a whole lot being wasted on a daily, weekly, monthly, heck, yearly basis. And because I'm a high performance coach, energy is one of the topics that we dive into to ensure that you can maintain a high performance attitude, reach those goals that you are going after. Because higher performers don't just have more energy, they protect the energy that they have fiercely because they know that is the core of what propels them towards success. And let me just raise my hand right here because I am constantly revisiting my daily, weekly routines and looking at my calendar because in all of those areas, there are potential spaces for leaks. So I, like you, am always a work in progress. And that is one of the reasons I love high performance coaching because we focus on things that when you become masterful with the topics, you can be fully present in your life. High performance coaching is a three sixty view to help elevate you to levels you never thought possible. The idea of this leaky faucet.
Penny Casselman:
If you simply ignore it thinking, oh, it's just a drop, you might get your water bill the next month and think, what the hell happened? Why is it so much more than it was the month before? I only have this little leak. And, director, same thing happens with the energy in your life. If you ignore those times where you feel drained or simply dismiss them. You will find yourself constantly wondering why things aren't working if we pull out from the analogy of a dripping faucet. There are losses that happen in our lives that we probably don't even think of as losses of energy. For instance, how often do you say yes versus no? They both have pros and cons. But the minute you say yes to something, it automatically triggers a no to something else. And being able to discern which one is really most appropriate to ensure your success takes some skill.
Penny Casselman:
Another example is doom scrolling. I'm raising my hand on this one. Again, I will tell you this past week, I took Facebook off of my phone for numerous reasons. But the minute I did it and set my phone down, I suddenly had this brief moment of zen knowing that I will not get lost in doom scrolling again through so many posts and ads that don't excite me and don't support an optimistic, energetic, and thriving life. Another example is also misaligned commitments. Have you ever committed yourself to doing something for a group, inside a group, for your family, for some friends, when after you committed, you had that regret feeling like, oh, what did I just do? The minute that comes into your awareness, that is going to be a place where you leak energy. The next time you catch yourself saying or feeling drained, remember this. It's not about pushing harder.
Penny Casselman:
It's not pushing through something. It's about how can you optimize what you're taking on so that you can eliminate all the small areas that could lead to an energy leak. It's time for a clarity cocktail. Today's clarity cocktail comes from Lou Holtz, and he writes, it's not the load that breaks you. It's the way you carry it. Think of old western movies and the cowboys, if they were going on a long trip, probably had some type of pack mule carrying their things. Well, in loading up pack mule, they don't put everything on one side. Right? They equally distribute it on either side of the mule's back so that it's balanced and can carry it forward.
Penny Casselman:
Now a novice might put too much on one side, and then what happens? It breaks the mule. He can't go as far, can't keep up, etcetera. Think about what you are currently working through, what you are currently facing in your life. And remember, whatever it is you are going through, it's not going to be what you're going through that breaks you. It's about the way you carry it. How are you showing up to tackle what's in front of you? How are you reacting when you get a setback? With the Pack Mule, when its load is distributed equally, it can handle the long durations, the speed at which things are moving. So as you move through this week, ask yourself this. How am I carrying the tasks that I have before me? Is there a way that I can find balance in what I'm doing with a few adjustments? And how might you better carry it so that you can get to the other side and reach success? Because as Lou Holtz said, it's not the load that breaks you, it's the way you carry it.
Penny Casselman:
And now, back to the episode. Cheers. Circling back to the secret of more energy, remember that energy is more than just about physical rest. It is also how we manage our mental, emotional, and environmental drains. When I mentioned I took Facebook off of my phone, that was a mental, emotional, and environmental drain on me. And by knowing that about myself, I removed the distraction. I removed the temptation of doom scrolling. Another aspect of energy ties back to mental clutter.
Penny Casselman:
I don't know about you, but before I established a more consistent wind down process before I go to bed, my mind would hold on to so many things, and I would find it so challenging to get to sleep. I would think about all the things that were outstanding, that were needing to get done. And make no mistake, mental clutter is real. You might not think that you have mental clutter in the middle of a focused activity, but your subconscious is always running, always trying to answer every outstanding question that you encountered or are presented with. Another example of where energy can be leaking is emotionally. If you are in a relationship, or you feel negatively when you see something happen, or you have guilt over something that maybe has nothing to do with you, Those emotional drains can also take a toll because just like mental clutter, the emotion piece still works in your subconscious. Another is environmental factors. So think about digital distractions, television, your physical space.
Penny Casselman:
Another thing I did recently was completely clear off everything on my desk. I had piles of receipts that I needed to get through. I had some mail I needed to look at. I had a journal. I had my planner. I had this. I had that. And what I found was every time I sat down to do work, all of that environmental clutter weighed down on my energy because my subconscious was always going back and forth to all the things that were around me, not allowing me to fully focus.
Penny Casselman:
I will tell you after cleaning off my desk, I am much more able to hold focus on important tasks and power through them. And probably the fourth surprising culprit of energy leaking is holding on to stories that no longer serve you. I was listening to a podcast this past week, and they were talking about how 50 year old people sometimes are still holding on to experiences and stories that they had when they were in their teens, in their twenties. So what old stories are you holding on to that don't serve you? Maybe you're saying I'm not a good cook. Maybe you're saying I don't know how to change a flat tire. I always lose my keys. All these little stories that we hold on to don't support us growing and getting better as individuals in our life. So what is one story you can let go of and modify it to increase your energy, to increase your confidence so that you can go out there and be successful in whatever it is you wanna do.
Penny Casselman:
One of the biggest differences between high performers and everybody else is they don't let their energy leaks go unchecked. And I mentioned that earlier. I am constantly a work in progress. However, when I feel drained or I notice that things are feeling off, you bet I pause and really reflect on why that is and what I could do differently to help ensure I maintain that positive energy to move me forward. And that energy awareness is one of the 10 foundational pieces that as a high performance coach, I help people explore and really master. Here are some quick solutions and strategies to help you when you find yourself in that drained condition. One, take a micro moment of restoration. Simply pause.
Penny Casselman:
If you're sitting at your desk, put your hands down to your side so that they are not resting on the keyboard or holding a pen. Put them to the side and just breathe, and allow yourself a moment to reset and reflect. Or if you are working on something around your house, put all your tools down, put things to the side, pause, breathe, and reset. Breath is a powerful thing when you are finding yourself drained, because sometimes it really is a lack of not getting enough oxygen, and a deep breath in and out a few times can actually help you reset and refresh. A second strategy might be setting energetic boundaries. Like I took Facebook off of my phone. That is a boundary. I am no longer letting myself look at that app on my phone because I know the energy that leaks out of me every time I do it.
Penny Casselman:
Another energetic boundary could be saying no to something so that you have enough time in your day to take care of yourself, or perhaps you delegate something. Maybe you said you would order the food for the next catering event. Maybe that's something someone else can help with if you just ask. And the third strategy is audit and realign your commitments. So look at your calendar. Truly sit down and look at your calendar for the next seven days and grade everything that's on your calendar. Does the activity fuel you or drain you? It's as simple as that. If you find that your calendar has more things on it that you've identified as draining than fueling, there is some big opportunity there to reassess your energy and figure out how you can stop the leaks so that you can support yourself and ensure that you are moving forward.
Penny Casselman:
So those three strategies again, micro moments of restoration. So pause, breathe, and reset. The second, setting energetic boundaries. Say no. Maybe you delegate, or maybe you simply unplug from the digital world. And the third is realign and audit your commitments. Just grade your calendar. Does it fuel you, or does it drain you? You may be extremely surprised with what your week has in store for you.
Penny Casselman:
Director. Those are three things that I help people with as a high performance coach because high performers don't wait until they burn out to recharge. They build in those micro recoveries, those pause, breathe, and reset. We also talk about how to generate energy on demand through things like movement and breath and focus. As you continue to move through your week, remember, energy isn't always about doing more. It's about doing less of what drains you. I'm challenging you to pick one small action this week where you can stop losing energy. Just one small thing.
Penny Casselman:
And lastly, if you are finding yourself extremely stuck or not sure how to move forward and capture energy, go download my free ultimate get unstuck guide. I will link to it in the show notes, but it's on every page of my website, penniecastleman.com. Go there. Get yourself unstuck. So until next week, director, stop leaking energy, go grab a red marker, and claim your red marker moment. Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen.
