Omit to Commit Research: Resource of Energy

Omit to Commit is all about the resources needed to opt into (and out of) behaviors, such as time, traditions (individual or group behaviors), trust, and treasures. By regularly making and breaking habits, life becomes more fulfilling and satisfying. I’m drafting a book called Omit to Commit, and in 2023, I’m posting research on the 20th of every month.

I’m thrilled to be sharing research based off of feedback from peers, research from books in my own collection, and personal experiences. This one hits close to home, so the sample size is slightly larger than one. As always, I need your help! If you have experience with how the resource of energy impacts your habits, fill out my book research form. And tl, dr: If you’re a human, energy in its many forms influences goals, so help a gal out! Share your thoughts by filling out the form, write a comment, or post this to your social channels. Thank you!

Energy is mental/physical capacity. Since I was a child, people have asked me, where does my energy come from? Whether it was my Sunshine persona at camp, or working full-time through school, or now plowing through various gigs, I have ample energy. Even as an introvert in a new-to-me state, this is still one of my key gifts. But it comes from recognizing and researching what works, for me, with the resources and relationships I have. One key resource? Time, to determine what I want, who I am, and where I’m going. So I ask, what tools do you have? Here’s some ways energy affects emotions, environments, and habits.

Energy can be shaped by emotions.

Check in with yourself: How’s your breathing? Did you sleep? Are you hydrated? How are your guts, temple, heart? If you’re feeling content, amazing! Energy is tied to emotions, and as I’ve written before, contentment is valued and even defined differently across cultures. In the West, the feeling of joy may look like excitement. This makes sense to me, as the US is highly extroverted. Excitement often takes the form of high-energy spaces. So, if you are feeling joyful, maybe tie your habit to such a space.

While I am easily excitable, as an introvert, my joy comes from a variety of sources, often discoveries by myself. I like nurturing my habits in quiet spaces alone, regaining my energy through solo runs every other day, as well as making a habit of reading before bed. The East, much more introverted than the West, views contentment as engagement or flow. One more layer: The East is considered more collectivist, so it’s curious that they consider looking inward for the “good of the group”, while westerners, an individualist bunch, often seek and find energy externally. While no trait is more valuable than another, the links between personalities, cultures, energies, and emotions fascinate me. Personality is all about individual differences, and we are shaped by both nature and nurture.

One shift in nurture I’ve seen in the West? A collective tiredness, whether it’s due to polarizing politics, the pandemic raging, economic shifts, or individual changes. Perhaps you’re feeling tired today? If so, you may be less engaged. Typically, when people feel less fulfilled, energy can be depleted. If you haven’t heard it recently, it is okay to take a break! Giving yourself space to pause and reflect generally quickens recovery time. Yes, I know this sounds counterintuitive. “Keep on keepin’ on” is not sustainable for extroverts and introverts alike. Forced positivity/productivity is not true contentment. What spaces can you give yourself to regain energy again?

Recognizing what you want, physically and mentally and who you are can help cultivate habit building, as well as positive emotions. If your tendency is to be surrounded by people, do you need this group reinforcement to work on habits? Such as a gym, surrounded by like-minded folks on similar courses? Perhaps if you’re an introvert (me!), your energy comes from time alone. This space of processing refuels batteries, and brings clarity in a very loud culture. Both introverts and extroverts need time with and without people, but introverts’ drive may be sustained longer when alone or with a select few.

Energy and emotion work require being who you are. Making a habit of checking in with who you are, what spaces you value, and where your energy feels “worth it” sustains the process. But there’s a problem: Energy gets depleted, especially as so much competes for it. How do you decide what’s the best way to use or regain your energy?

Energy can be renewed, but this usually looks different for introverts and extroverts. Introverts savor time alone, and extroverts gain energy when with other people. Ritualizing habits related to one’s personality is a key way to maintain those goals. If you’re an introvert, that can mean setting apart regular spaces and times just for you. An extrovert? Find like-minded groups, social networks, and environments dedicated to your habit(s).

When forming a habit, I always recommend making them as easy, fun, and unconscious as possible so they become routine. In other words, they start to happen automatically. The strategy of habit-pairing or stacking comes in handy here. For example, after my shift is done, I try to run right after, as mental work can easily shift to mental work. There are a couple trails near by, and my brain can turn off when it’s my body’s turn to go. An introvert, I typically don’t need a gym to fuel my energy. This time helps me return to my core, and so I savor this ritual.

Renewing one’s energy for habits can be difficult if your capacity feels depleted. How can you give yourself time and space to gain energy?

Recognizing individual differences, introverts and extroverts can (re)gain energy through environmental cues, self-checks, and relational wealth. Dedicating space, time, and energy for habits help build a routine, and my shift to single-tasking has allowed me to focus on many projects, one by one. By doing a single activity at a time, slow progress is built, and I’ve found the art of doing just one thing, and then another and another, also nurtures focus and flow. This is backed by science, too: Having less interruptions builds concentration and renews energy. Regardless of introversion or extroversion. This is the ultradian rhythm where the body cycles through high to low energy throughout the day. Taking 90-120 minutes on a task then pausing helps people concentrate, breath, and then get back to work.

Western world is obsessed with work, despite ample evidence of this work-break strategy’s success. An abundance of PTO hours are never used each year in the US, even in this so-called age of quiet quitting. Employers know this, especially as capitalism links work to worth, and so organizations need to invest in their employees so they are motivated to use their precious energies well. Staying, working, and thriving means creating spaces where people feel (re)charged, so they can find purpose, perform, and produce.

Productivity culture asks, “what do you do?” instead of, “how are you?”

Making a habit of doing work you love or using energy outside of work to do so is an ongoing, worthwhile endeavor. Living purposefully can help regain energy. Certainly, purpose can come from a paycheck, as the work itself may be considered meaningful. But for many, it’s how that pay is used, outside of essentials, that can lead to purpose. High-value habits are meaningful because they align with greater reason beyond the physical or mental energy. It might be the outcomes of the energy that keeps people going, but I don’t recommend focusing on the product, because what if you can’t produce, the energy tap has run dry, or you have writer’s block?

Instead of focusing on the outcome of energy, I recommend using your energy to see how you’re doing, big and small picture. Really checking in with yourself can feel like a lot of work, at first. Making space doesn’t have to be as “extreme” as meditation, but sitting in a space of mental clarity can provide relief. What does your spirit need? This usually gets me thinking, how can I show up for present me, so that future me is grateful? Truly resting allows the brain to unconsciously simmer, and new discoveries can come from this time. Pausing allows reflection, as well as appreciation and savoring. You may discover new ways to practice habits, too!

Creating spaces of positive energy is an individual and collective process.

I make spaces of good energy through transitioning environments to share little bits of me. At work, my coffee cup shares, “Cup of sunshine”, reinforcing my camp identity. It’s a little joy, but that first hit of caffeine is that boost of adrenaline, reinforced by the moniker. Since work’s a huge part of my identity, adding positivity is part of the routine. With my coffee comes fruit and water, signifying readiness for the start of the day. Cultivating positive energy means sustaining spaces for the individual and collective self to shine.

When showing up to a space, I ask for “good vibes”, and I know it’s on me how I give and receive energy. Intuitively, it is not my job to give to those who don’t want to receive it. Consent matters! Making a habit of showing up as my higher self, boosted by sleep (sometimes) and caffeine, has helped keep my energy up. If we’re the sum of all our identities, I want to learn how to share to those who will receive it. Boundaries protect my energy, and for now I am choosing who to share life details with, such as service work, relationships, and grad school. And I am learning how to receive others’ energies, too.

Organizations can help shape energy, and I feel brave, kind, and compassionate when colleagues and volunteers share their habits, values, and energies with me. Whether this is work-related or not. Positive neutrality signifies that everyone has a chance for positive energy, that everyone has reasons why they do what they do, day after day. For me? I like using science-backed research methods to keep cultivating habits. Even this blog post is informed by psychology, sociology, engineering, and organizational behavior. Meaningful progress, whether it’s professional or personal, keeps me going. Perseverance is driven when the collective feels enriched by individuals working together.

Recognizing that everyone’s trying helps me see that one rough day doesn’t mean giving up on a relationship or habit. Yet, as a mere mortal, I know insecurities, such as feeling isolated or not belonging, can drain energy. Friction happens when energies are not matched. Flight or fight, often triggered by anxiety-fueled adrenaline, prevents logic and reflection, too. Seeing relationships and spaces as they are as objectively as possible is an important practice, too. If you’re trying to form a new habit in a triggering space, it may feel exhausting and probably will result in unproductivity. Can you protect your energy? If you’re in the sustaining part of a habit, can you transition to a new environment, such as a nearby office space? Or go for a quick walk? Even temporary relaxation, such as a gratitude practice, can help you regain the resource of energy once more. Make energy work a priority!

Regularly working the body, mind, and spirit means learning who you are.

Intangible threads of energy are sprinkled throughout the universe. With so much stimuli to respond to, I ask, what story are you sharing? How you use your energy influences how others perceive you. While it can be difficult to separate your worth based off of such work, it is on YOU to share the why’s. As an individual who makes meaning and lessons out of my various identities and habits, I like asking, what did I learn as a result of energy and its environment? How do I want to be remembered, what’s my legacy?

As multidimensional human beings who are more than AI, system learning, and robots, allocating time for what/who/where you love has benefits beyond the product or paycheck. Investing energy through new challenges and getting positive feedback is a welcome reward, begetting benefits such as skill-building. For example, I am grateful to continue exploring new technologies and marketing trends at my job, such as learning Adobe products after years of Microsoft products and Canva, but I am also in a place where I can keep learning for its own sake, too. Achievement matters less than values alignment, but reinforcements matter. Making a habit of creating, in both work and home life, means I am a creative. And the result? I have started viewing myself as a creative.

When starting a habit, allow your energy to roam through play.

It’s natural to tie energy to end results or the “end game”, but my latest habit is to try to do rituals for their own sake. Just because I love them. It’s a return to childhood, because that means I don’t have to present or perform. In other words, I don’t have to do an activity well and instead just allow wonder and play to come in. Artmaking, such as collages, is a natural result of this. (Good thing ‘make art for its own sake’ is on my 2023 goals.)

Allowing energy just for play can cultivate joy and caring. It’s a self- and social-investment, but creating spaces for fun can bring engagement and/or excitement. Organizations, take note: How are you regularly encouraging play, curiosity, tinkering? Any spaces for wholehearted, multidimensional energy?

Managing one’s energy is a very intentional practice, and I hope this post gives you some tips on prioritizing spaces and people who recognize it. Making a habit of prioritizing both the giving and receiving of positive energy is an investment, and it goes against productivity culture’s urge to just go-go-go without reflection or savoring. But energy can be renewed, thanks to rituals, routines, and relationships. How do you make space for this? Have some environments led you to building, maintaining, or removing energies? How was purpose, emotion, and energy evaluated or valued? Hope to hear from you soon!