How much energy should you give something?

Solid question right? Have you ever found yourself directing way too much energy toward ultimately the wrong thing? Because, one of the main consequences of this is that you wind up not putting the right amount of energy on the right thing or things. Obvious? Hopefully, but not everyone recognizes that until it’s too late.

There is in this day and age so much stimulation and the competition for our attention is fierce. Remember when breaking news actually meant breaking news. Now it’s just a tool to get and keep attention to boost ratings and sell advertising.

There is so much noice out there that maybe we need a system to determine if something is worth our time, attention and most importantly, our energy.

So here’s three questions you can ask when you when determining if something deserves your energy:

How much control do I have over it it?
Will this create new (better) problems?
To what degree does this help and add value to myself and others?

Let’s break these down and go a little deeper here…

ONE: How much control do I have over it it?

In Steven R Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he shows us two circles we live in. One is our circle of influence, the other is our circle of concern. One we have direct control over and the other we have concern over but no control. Clearly, we want to spend as much time as possible working on the things we have control over. While other things may be concerning, if we can’t control the outcome, how much energy should we actually give it?

So where you direct attenergy (that’s attention and energy in one word, I’d totally play it in scrabble too) should be towards things you can control. Do not subjugate your control over to things you have no control over or are only concerning.

TWO: Will this create new (better) problems?

Most of the time we are trying to avoid problems. Yet somehow problems tend to show up regardless of how hard we try. Imagine a life without problems. How absolutely boring! Life is a game and an adventure. Games are played to win. It’s the problems, obstacles and challenges that make the game fun and exciting.

You need better problems. Grant Cardone talks about this in his book Sell Or Be Sold. If you’re going to have problems either way, what kind of problems would you like? Worries and problems about money. Seems pretty common for most folks. One set of problems would be about managing your assets, preserving your wealth and dealing with a higher tax bracket. The other set of problems are after paying rent and utilities, having to decide between food, car payments or insurance.

Now that we have that established, let’s confront the hard stuff that is also the most liberating. YOU, I, WE create our problems based on what we think, decide and do. This means that if we’re going to have problems and we create them, it would make since to be more intentional about that wouldn’t it.

So how much energy should you give something? Will the expended energy create a new better problem or just make existing problems worse or more abundant?

[NOTE: We are part of an abundant, intelligent universe that you are connected to and in communication with. What you focus on, you create. You can do this consciously or subconsciously but it’s happening either way.]

THREE: To what degree does this help and add value to myself and others?

We are making decisions every single day. Will these decisions serve you, others, the community or the world in general? The correct decision will be to what degree does this benefit the big picture, serve the community and does it make you better or worse?

When you have a choice, and you always do, take the gap. What I mean by that, is between the stimulus and the response is a gap. In that gap is where you decide and affirm who you are and who you are going to be. And this decision will always have a ripple effect on your immediate surroundings, community and the planet. Some ripples are bigger than others and please do not think yourself so insignificant that it doesn’t.

Look outward. Know that you’re on purpose when you’re looking to serve others. You should practice self-care but it should never be all about you. That’s the dichotomy or being human. Be the best version of yourself so you can better contribute to the groups you’re in and the planet you life on.

FINAL THOUGHTS: How much energy should you give something?

Remember, everything you do is based on decisions you’re making. Keep in mind, that you have and are in total control and you get to pick your problems. The problems get bigger and better as you grow and get lost in the service of other people.

Leave a comment below about how you’re going to implement these three questions into your daily life because it’s what you do today that will create your tomorrow.