Everything Is Connected

To learn more about those four wheels, the book The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz is a good read. According to the authors;

1.Physical energy is the main source of fuel in our lives, even if our work is sedentary. It helps manage emotions, sustain focus, and think creatively. The main elements for optimum physical energy are well-known; eat a healthy diet, exercise and get enough sleep. Yet knowing something on an intellectual level is very different from actually doing it. However understanding how it’s intrinsically connected to everything else might help you make a step in the right direction.

2.Emotional energy makes life more enjoyable – if it’s positive. Peak performance requires riding on the wave of positive emotions such as gratitude, happiness, enjoyment, challenge, adventure, opportunity, and staying away from anything that is toxic – fear, anxiety, sadness and anger. To build this muscle, know the activities you enjoy the most and add them to your life. Most of the people I know refrain from doing that for reasons such as, “It’s a hobby and it won’t pay.” So maybe that’s true – it is a hobby that doesn’t pay, but it does pay in terms of energy, not just money, and that can easily influence the other wheels of your life.

3.The basis of performance-enhancing mental energy is focusing on the task at hand and removing distraction. I’ve written a whole post over here.

4.Spiritual energy is important, because it’s directly related to your purpose, clarifies why you do what you do, and is able to override all the other energies when your spiritual fire burns fiercely enough. This is the mother-lifts-car-to-save-baby effect. You turn into a superhero and nobody can stand in your way if your reasons are strong enough.