5 Habits To Skyrocket Your Energy

The most common complaint we hear from our health coaching clients is lack of energy. Everyone seems to be burning the candle at both ends. Our lives are filled with activities from the moment we wake up until we fall into bed in the evening. We find ourselves running on the treadmill of life, not sure if we are really getting anywhere. Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever wished you had the energy to get you through the day?

If you implement these 5 habits into your daily routine, you will start to notice a significant boost in your energy. For the most part, everything we do is out of habit. Pay attention to your daily routines. Do they vary much? If you are like most people, probably not.

Instead of living your life based on unsupportive habits, start to be proactive in life and consciously create habits which will support your health, mind, body and spirit. In this article, we will discuss the benefits to just 5 habits that will significantly improve how you feel and how productive you are in life.

Habit 1: Focus on what you want. This sounds simple, doesn't it? Why wouldn't you focus on what you want? Why would you want to focus on what you don't want? The reason is simple, out of habit we tend to focus on what we don't want. "I don't want to be fat anymore." "I don't want to be tired all the time." "I don't want to be stuck in this dead-end job." "I don't want to be passed over for a promotion." "I don't want to argue with my kids, friends or spouse." Do any of these statements sound familiar?

When you focus on what you don't want, that is exactly what you attract into your life. Your mind doesn't hear the NOT and focuses only on the rest of the statement. Your mind hears "I want to be fat" "I want to be tired all the time" "I want to be stuck in this dead-end job." "I want to be passed over for a promotion." "I want to argue with my kids, friends or spouse." If these are the messages you are sending yourself, you can see how you are keeping yourself stuck. It is impossible to free yourself of what you don't want by focusing on it. The only way to get what you want in life is to focus your attention on that which you do want. As you focus your attention on what you want in life this will naturally raise your energy. You will be attracting to yourself that which you truly want in life instead of that which you do not want.

Habit 2: Set SMART goals. In order to focus on what you want. You must know what you want. One way to know what you want is to set SMART goals.

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Alignment with values (Achievable)

R = Realistic

T = Time Bound

Some of you may have heard of setting SMART goals before. This acronym has been around for a long time. The problem is, most people do not set SMART goals. Most people don't bother to set any goals or they set very vague weak goals or very large goals that they don't really believe they can achieve. Most people also don't take the time to write their goals down.

Dare to be different, take time today to set some SMART goals for yourself. Once you set a specific, measurable, aligned with your values, realistic and time bound goal you will be very clear on what you want. It will make it easier to focus your attention on that goal and create your road map to get you to your goal. The excitement of having this SMART goal will raise your energy as you focus and achieving this goal.

HABIT 3: Diet and Nutrition. In order to have energy to reach your goals, it is important to fuel your body with high quality nutrition. Refined, processed, artificially sweetened and colored foods drain your energy. If you fuel your body with high quality nutritious food, your body will be able to perform at its peak potential. When selecting food look for a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources preferably organic free range products, whole grains and healthy fats.

HABIT 4: Physical Activity. Our bodies are meant to move. The more you move the better you will feel. Start to create a habit of physical activity. Instead of looking for the closest parking spot, find the farthest parking spot. Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator. Find activities you enjoy doing such as roller blading, running, walking, swimming, cycling, playing sports, karate, dance, Tai Chi, Yoga etc. Once you find some activities you enjoy start to incorporate them into your daily routine. As you increase your physical activity, you will increase your energy levels.

HABIT 5: Sleep. It is essential that adults get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep daily. Many people are staying up late and getting up early, which means most of us are sleep deprived. If you are constantly running on a sleep deficient, your energy will be low. Start to implement some habits to promote good sleep such as a consistent bedtime, sleep in a dark cool room, don't have any electronic devices in your bedroom and have a nightly routine to signal your body that it is time to wind down and get some rest.

Implementing these five habits will skyrocket your energy. To prevent you from feeling overwhelmed, start slowly. Work on incorporating one habit at a time into your daily routine. Select small focused baby steps that will support your new habits. Overtime these new healthy habits will just become part of who you are and will be very easy for you to incorporate as part of your daily routine.