"The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body is. The more efficient your body is, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results." -Tony Robbins
Through our coach training program, Matt and I have been learning a lot about how to be happier and more successful by raising our energy. I wanted to take time this morning to share a little bit of what we learned and how it's impacting my life.
When you break life down to it's smallest building blocks, we are all made from energy. Energy is what makes us and the entire world tick. In the book, Energy Leadership, by Bruce D. Schneider (read this book, by the way, it is excellent), Bruce posits that if we are all made of energy, then improving our energy is what we need to work on to have happier, more fulfilled lives.
Schneider breaks energy down into seven categories or levels, the higher the level you can operate in, the happier you tend to be in all areas of your life.
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| Chart courtesy of Bruce D. Schneider and iPEC Coaching. |
To break the levels down into easy to understand language, lets think of them in terms of winning and losing.
Level 1: I lose. Level 1 is victim energy -- think of Eeyore's "woe is me" attitude.
Level 2: You lose. This level is all about blame and anger. If something is wrong in my life, it's your fault.
Level 3: I win. This is the first level with more positive than negative energy. You take responsibility for your actions and you make stuff happen.
Level 4: You win. This is the quintessential "mom" level -- you want the best for others, so you will do whatever it takes to help them achieve.
Level 5: We both win. This level is all about opportunity -- no matter what the situation, you can find the opportunity in it and work to find the win-win for everyone.
Level 6: We always win. This level is all about the experience. It doesn't matter if it is "good" or "bad," the experience is worth the ride.
Level 7: Winning and losing are illusions. This is the highest level of consciousness, when you are connected directly to your higher power and are experiencing absolute joy.
What is fascinating about these levels to me was learning that 85% of the world operates at Levels 1 & 2! How different would our community, much less our world be if we could all learn to operate at a Level 5 -- where everything is win-win? (As a side note, it is really difficult for mere mortals to operate at Levels 6 and 7 for more than a short period of time, so striving for a baseline Level 5 energy is the typical goal).
As part of our training, Matt and I each took Energy Leadership Index Assessments, which measure our baseline operating energy level. As someone who loves to help others, I was sure that my assessment would show that I was operating at a Level 4.
I was shocked to discover how much Level 1 and Level 2 energy that I still had in my life, and what a huge impact it had on my baseline score. Although I have a ton of Level 4 and Level 5 energy, it is being masked by self-pity and conflict. What a wake-up call!
When I got my results back, I was upset (Level 2 - ha!). I didn't want to believe that the test was accurate. Then I started to notice how quick I was to snap at others throughout the day, (Level 2), make a snide comment about a situation (Level 2) or lament the fact that the bus *always* shows up just before I cross the street (Level 1). Wow!
What is great about this process is that your energy level is not immutable -- you can change! Just noticing my energy levels has had a positive impact -- I am less likely to make snide or "woe is me" comments, and try to find the opportunity in each situation. I'm a work in progress (aren't we all?), but I am confident that when I retake the ELI Assessment in several months, my score will be dramatically different.
If you are interested in learning what your own Energy baseline is, contact us and we can give you additional information about completing an assessment and debrief.
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