When I was writing my last post on time wasters, I came upon an article about those things that drain our energy. Lifehack called it the 7 Energy Sinkholes. Now I grew up in Florida and have seen many a sinkhole. I have seen where they swallowed houses whole. I have seen where they have swallowed up streets. It can happen quickly and without warning. There is no way of knowing ahead of time. One of the things they are talking about with the drought in Florida that they could possibly see quite a few sinkholes. But what about the Energy sinkholes in our lives? The article hit a nerve in me because I think it is something we as ministers have to deal with constantly in our work.
The article at Lifehack.org says the following; Energy sinkholes are situations that repeatedly drain your energy and stress you out. Unfortunately, it is often hard to see sinkholes since they rarely cause a drain all at once. Instead they slowly leech away at your lifeforce until your stressed, depressed and apathetic.
Here are the big seven that may be stealing from you right now:
1 - Disorganization
2 - Poor Diet and Lack of Exercise
3 - Problem Contacts
4 - Focusing on Your Weaknesses
5 - Squeaky Hinges
6 - Blog/E-Mail/Facebook Addiction
7 - Pleasing People
Ouch, Ouch and double ouch.
But we could add to these;
Too many commitments
Being controlling
unfinished tasks
negative people
doing things that are not our passion or our strength
meetings for meetings sake
dealing with a lot of sickness, death and crisis sitations
Fear
Resentment
Unresolved grief
worry
negative thoughts about our selves
shame
Hopelessness and/or despair
Guilt
Being overresponsible
Perfectionism
Too high of expectations
overwork
Too many people around you
Too few people around you
financial issues
The list could go on. And no wonder the energy drinks are big sellers. Maybe its important to know the things that drain you, so you don't end up sunk into some sinkhole either. Maybe it is important to know what are your energy boosters are also, so you are getting re-engerized and not depleted. I certainly don't want to be sunk in any sinkhole.
I think that along with keeping up with how I spend my time, I am going to keep up with what drains me as well as what energizes me.
4 comments:
I like the image a lot.
But my recent expereinces inform me that sometimes you can't change the sinkhole, you can't get out of it, and you can't fix it...you just have to live with it...
do sinkholes ever fill back up again?
Wow. So much to think about in this post...
thanks..
d
I'm enjoying your posts this week - these are the year-beginning thoughts I usually have also. Thanks! It is easier for me to remember what drains than what energizes...
Great ideas - as soon as plumbing gets fixed ($3,000 in the last month (water heater flooded downstairs; a faucet needed a new valve; the pressure reducing valve needed replacing; a toilet needed re-seating; and today the backflow protection device seems to have failed and now there is MORE water in the basement!!! - I could use an ACTUAL drain or two!!!!) I want to try a time-use journal and then to prioritize the ways I spend my time. Internet can be both a time-sucker and an energizer. Sometimes I sit down to check email and realize that 2 hours have gone by (and really, how important could any of that email be??). But your posts (and some of the emails) leave me with something to mull over or with a smile, or just feeling better able to cope with whatever. Thanks for being here.
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