Inspiring Others

Dear Energy Lady,
Something interesting happened at work today.   They announced a sales contest, and I sometimes win these.  And I like to win; it certainly beats losing.  But as they talked about the details, I couldn't get excited, and I don't know why.  They gave us a clear picture of what we needed to do, and the rewards are terrific.  What happened to my energy?  How do I get it back?

Signed,
Flat-lined

Dear Flat,
You just discovered something important about energy: it doesn't come from outside you.  You could say that it's in you, or that it is you.   What's outside us gives us the contrast we need to create an identity we can use to navigate physical life.

In your case, maybe you think of yourself as a salesperson, and this has come along to let you ask yourself if that's still true.  Or maybe you're a different kind of salesperson than you once were.  Or it could be that you're simply no longer motivated by money or prizes.  As Grace Farrell says to Daddy Warbucks in the movie "Annie"--"Do you really only love money?  You know it's never going to love you back."   So perhaps you've discovered that winning is fleeting, and you want something more.

Or maybe not.   Consider how the message was delivered.   Was your boss upbeat and excited, or was he/she concerned that things are not going well, and that the contest has a certain level of scarcity and concern attached to it?  It could be that the "normal," you, the one who really loves sales contests and winning, picked up on the "static" of the concern, and it just didn't resonate with you.  So maybe it's just the message, or the way the message was delivered, and not you.

Here's the thing:  energetically, what resonates with us is whatever allows energy to move through us, use us productively or lovingly, or live as us in our most authentic state.  And that's usually something that's tied to being loved, valued or respected.  So if your boss only presented what the contest was and how you could go about winning it, but forgot the "why"--the inspiring reason why everyone should get involved and excited--it's not likely that you'd get engaged without you supplying that reason for yourself.

If that's true, then ask yourself, "What's my 'why?' for this?  What feels right and good and true about this?  How will it impact others if I win?"

Then close your eyes.  If you can feel the result and resonate with it without doubt or concern, then it will likely be easier to get excited.  But if you find that you still can't connect to it, then ask yourself, "what is it I truly want...and why?"

I'll write more about this in coming weeks.

Love to you,
EL