Protecting your energy

Sadly, there’s a lot of negative energy floating around out there in the world today and while carrying a positive attitude into each day and every circumstance is essential, it’s only half the battle. If you’re not taking steps to protect your energy, all the effort you put into being a positive person likely won’t get you very far.

Be it traumatic news stories, grumpy coworkers or the never-ending list of complaints we hear around us all day long, whether we realize it or not, we are surrounded by “bad” energy on the regular. When I say “bad” energy, I mean vibrations that detract from and eat away at the positivity that we put out into the world. While those vibrations often times are not intentionally bad, (someone mindlessly complaining about running late this morning or spilling their coffee) they do get our minds into a particular type of thinking without us even realizing.

Have you ever felt exhausted after listening to and supporting a friend who’s going through a hard time? Do you ever feel you need a vacation from your vacation after traveling with a large group of people? Or, have you ever needed quiet moments to yourself while spending time with your family during the holidays?

All of these are examples of times when you are absorbing the energy of the people and places around you.

Often we aren’t very aware of the varying types of energy we encounter on a daily basis. We just see our interactions with the world around us as a fact of life, which it is, but it isn’t only that. We must grow our awareness to times when we are encountering that “bad” energy and teach ourselves how to avoid those draining situations or people and recover from them when they are absolutely unavoidable.

I talk a lot about having a positive mindset here and as I said, that is half the battle to living a more fulfilling and happy life, but protecting that positive energy you’ve worked so hard to cultivate is just as important!

But how do we do it? Here are some steps I take to protect my energy.

Set boundaries. Be judicious about the time you spend in places and with people who drain you of your energy. We are entitled to setting limits to the energy we give away to others. It’s ok to say “no” to invitations to events that you know will be draining on you and it’s perfectly ok to limit the time you spend with people who have a negative or complaining approach to life. You shouldn’t feel bad about making decisions that conserve and protect your energy.

Pause. By pausing throughout your day you can better sense how your surroundings are affecting you. Be it a person, place or thing you’re engaging with, take time to notice how they make you feel. Do you feel at peace? Great! Do you feel a sense of hesitancy? Dig deeper to understand why. Are you feeling a tightness in your chest or a knot in your stomach? These are all signs that you should pay close attention to and you simply may not notice them unless you take time to pause.

Take a moment for yourself. After you’ve taken time to pause and assess how a situation, person or thing is making you feel you now have an awareness that can help you take the next step in protecting your energy. Unfortunately, there are some draining situations in life that we just can’t avoid. When that’s the case, be sure to take a moment when you’re able to step away from it to let go of that bad energy. Take ten deep breaths. Sit quietly by yourself. Repeat a mantra that reminds you that the energy you just encountered is not yours (“I have peace within me.” or “Those emotions do not belong to me.” are two of my favorites.) Take a few deep breaths. No matter what it is, find a way that helps you reconnect with the calmness and positivity you’ve grown within you.

Connect with Mother Nature. Get outside and go for a walk or take your shoes off and place your bare feet in the grass (this is called earthing). We are more positive people the more time we spend in nature.  We’re all made up of vibrations and those vibrations change in response to our environment.  Studies have shown that we vibrate at a higher frequency when surrounded by nature so getting outside is a great way to release the negative energy you may have encountered. When we vibrate at a higher frequency, the more positive energy we put out into the world around us, which increases our positive energy field and protects us from those bad vibes floating around out there.

Try one or all of these methods out the next time you find yourself in a situation that could be potentially draining of your energy. Take time to explore how you can best protect your energy and handle some of the negative vibrations that may be a part of your life at this moment.

Working to maintain a positive perspective in life is incredibly important for our mental and physical health and clearing the negative energy you encounter is a critical part of this process.

Light, Love & the Highest Vibrations,

Lon