When you think about energy givers and energy takers, relationships are probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, hobbies, daily activities, and lifestyle choices can have a significant impact on our quality of life, too.
There are people who are rays of sunshine, infusing nothing but light and joy into our lives. While other people feel like hovering dark clouds that rain on our parade every day.
We can control the positive relationships we foster and invest time into, as well as the negative relationships we create distance from.
But what happens when you’re unaware of the things, activities, and lifestyle practices that prevent you from operating at 100% or reaching your fullest potential?
Understanding the difference between energy givers and energy takers is important for living a prosperous life.
Have you ever started a brand new day and don’t know why your internal battery is at 10% by the early afternoon?
Sometimes, it’s worth reassessing the things you did hours before. If you’re only getting a few hours of sleep at night, drinking alcohol or eating leftover takeout for breakfast, or rolling out of bed to scroll on social media won’t result in a productive day.
You’ll feel drained from the lack of a morning routine, nutritious meals to fuel your body and mind, and overstimulation from the news and social media that has no direct impact on your life.
Recognizing what motivates you, makes you feel less stressed, and puts you in a good mood can do wonders for your daily life.
Keep reading to learn which energy takers and energy givers may be affecting your ability to show up as the best version of yourself on a day-to-day basis.
What is the difference between energy givers and energy takers?
Energy takers are poor habits, lifestyle choices, and daily activities that often result from stress, sleep deprivation, negative relationships, or excessive workloads. Properly managing these factors can help optimize your overall well-being and performance.
Positive relationships, adequate sleep, regular exercise, a balanced diet, and pursuing meaningful activities serve as energy givers that contribute to your health, wellness, and ability to thrive in life.
What are some energy givers?
Hydration
H2O. This sounds so cliche, I know, but go get you a 40 oz. jug of water, guys.
When you properly hydrate your body, the differences you will feel are unmatched. There are a plethora of benefits that come with drinking 90 ounces of water per day.
It’s the recommended amount of water that will yield various benefits, which include removing toxins and waste, regulating body temperature, transporting nutrients, improving cell-to-cell communication, enabling the digestive process, and lubricating joints to prevent pain.
Your body needs to be rehydrated every day for it to function to its best potential.
What’s even better are the cognitive benefits of staying hydrated.
Water helps with carrying oxygen to the brain, managing stress, enhances your ability to concentrate and focus, improves your memory, relieves and prevents headaches, increases blood flow, and balances your mood.
Water is a natural energy giver and easily accessible. There’s no excuse not to give your body the hydration it needs.
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Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the most shared commonalities among the happiest people in the world.
Those people who refuse to give their energy away to stress, anxiety, anger, but channel that energy into what they’re grateful for instead are far better off.
Imagine turning every negative into a positive for the day.
Rather than focusing on negative encounters or bad things that happened, turn your attention to the good.
If traffic is bad, be grateful for the running car you have for transportation.
You may have exchanged words with a confrontational person, but what about highlighting all the people who were friendly to you instead?
Don’t call it a bad day and rule out all the good things that happened to you. You woke up in good health.
There was money in your bank account and food in the refrigerator to cook an enjoyable meal with a roof over your head.
Try practicing gratitude 2-3 times a day for 10-15 minutes to experience a dramatic shift in your mindset, emotional health, and the way you show up in the world.
Movement
When your body releases endorphins and heart rate gets pumping from moving, you experience increased energy levels.
Skipping exercise or a walk in the park is not an option for me, especially when I want a highly productive day. If body movement isn’t a part of your daily routine, you’re missing out.
This can be as simple as playing with your pet, jumping wrong, a brisk walk, or a 10-15 minute cardio workout.
Regularly moving your body has various benefits:
- Increase energy levels
- Improved physical health
- Mental well-being
- Weight management
- Enhanced sleep quality
- Better cognitive function
- Group activities and sports to foster community
- Disease prevention
- Boosted immune system
- Higher quality of life
Don’t count out exercise as an energy giver. Anytime you’re feeling depressed or fatigue, get up and move your body. You’ll notice the difference.
Learn something new
There’s nothing fun about living a mundane life. When you’re not excited about your life, you have no energy to put forth effort into making it better.
Your excitement in exploring new things shouldn’t end in childhood.
As an adult, I’m still nurturing the ‘child’ in me.
There are so many hobbies, activities, and cultures around the world l would like to learn more about and experience.
Learning something new doesn’t have to be limited to a classroom or taking a course online alone.
You can venture outside of your community, visit museum exhibits, read more literature, and travel to places to learn from the people of that country, too.
Anytime I can learn something new, my energy feels replenished.
On the job, it’s usually learning a new skill or receiving training in an area outside of your professional industry. Exploring and learning is an energy giver because it leads to intellectual advancement, cultural awareness, and a decrease in depression.
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Resting
Sleeping an adequate amount of hours every night is a given. When your body needs healing, there’s a reason the doctor tells you to get plenty of rest. Hydration and sleep work hand in hand to restore and rejuvenate the body.
Honestly, it feels like magic. When I’m in a bad mood, worried, or stressed out, sometimes, all it takes is a nap to get me back to feeling myself again.
Sometimes, your crabby mood is just a lack of sleep and nothing deeper than that. When you have things on your mind and you feel overwhelmed, sleep may not resolve all your problems, but you’ll be in a clearer mental state to attack them when you awaken.
Community
Friendships and relationships are important. Fostering community in your neighborhood, at work, school or with people who share common interests with you makes you feel a part of something bigger outside of yourself.
Invest your energy and time wisely in positive people who return that support and energy back into your life.
When you carefully curate communities the right way, they give you energy and make the roller coaster of life worth it because you have someone to ride it with you.
Positivity
Everyone knows how draining people can be when they harp on the negative. When you’re determined to have a good time and adamant about ignoring negative energy, they usually turn it up a notch.
Don’t subject yourself to this abuse. Although you may be positive and can repel people who are perpetually in a bad mood, it’s better to not share space and energy with them.
They want you to feel the same as them. When you’re a Debbie Downer, do people gravitate towards you or shy away?
One remedy for this is simply smiling and finding the good in bad news. I always like to take the perspective that things could be worse. There’s always someone out there with less favorable circumstances than you.
Remember to be a positive light wherever you go.
What does an energy taker look like?
Energy takers can manifest in various forms and will vary based on individual circumstances.
For some, an energy taker is a parasitic partner in a relationship or a toxic friend that makes your life miserable because they are unhappy in theirs.
Toxic and draining relationships that often demand emotional energy without offering support can be energy takers.
An energy taker can also stem from an unhealthy lifestyle, bad habits, stressful environments, clutter and disorganization, negative self talk, and sleep deprivation.
Some energy takers that often get overlooked are sedentary lifestyles, poor food diets, and substance abuse, all of which can deplete your energy.
Overworking is also an energy taker.
If you want to exhaust yourself quickly, take on more than you can handle. Excess working at home, at work, or doing too much for other people with no support in return will put your battery in the red each time.
Chaotic work environments or settings at home can lead to mental fatigue, making it challenging to stay focused.
It’s important to declutter regularly and stay organized to maintain your sanity and a clear mind.
A poor self image is an energy taker as well. Self-critical or negative thoughts can be an internal energy taker that affects your confidence and motivation.
While individuals inflict a poor self-image upon themselves, daily affirmations can remedy it.
What are energy givers examples?
Energy givers examples
- Sunlight
- Laughter
- Exercise
- Reading
- Journaling
- Gratitude
- Hydration
- Meditation
- Community
- Decluttering
- Consistent sleep
- Learning
- Resting
- Positivity
- Walking in nature
- Self care
- Positive self-talk
- Breathwork
- Being authentic
- Movement
- Living in the moment
- Deep breathing
- Filtered water
- Living mindfully
- Nutritious food
- Music
- Acceptance
- Friends
- Minimalism
- Love
Energy takers
- Sugar
- People pleasing
- Fear and doubt
- Sitting all day
- Overthinking
- Worrying
- Dehydration
- Negativity
- Alcohol and drug abuse
- Stress
- Living on autopilot
- Junk Food
- The News
- Fear
- Resentment
- Comparison
- Clutter
- Hate
- Focusing on the past
- Not enough sleep
- Overworking
- Screen time
- Social Media
- Gossiping
Energy givers and energy takers can manifest in different forms. Take back control over your life and monitor your spirit, your health, and mental state to cut off anything and anyone that’s negatively impacting your mood. You only have one life to live. Make your happiness a priority , too. Take the simple living challenge to experience an easier life, even if only for 31 days.
I teach entrepreneurs how to simplify their life and business with less + own their time and maximize productivity towards their personal and monetary goals.
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