It may be easy to glance over quickly, but at the top of this website is a line that states, “The Map To Unleashing Your Personal Energy & Living Your Dreams”. While many of these posts deal directly with your health and personal energy, my question is where is that energy being focused and directed? If you could wake up with twice or even ten times as much energy, clarity and drive, than ever before…how would you use that energy?

I feel that I can strongly say “watching more tv” didn’t enter the picture for most of you. Why? Because that’s not your drive. When you reach a level where you’ve got a reliable, steady stream of energy all day, every day, you eventually turn to yourself and pose a question: “What’s my purpose? Is there something better I could be doing with my time?”. The thing is, most of us only find this focus and direction after getting to a place of abundant personal energy. Anyone in an energy crisis will tell you that they’d much rather just get by; it’s honestly hard to reach for goals and ambitions that stretch you when you feel like there’s nothing left to stretch. I’ve been there and I made a decision to leave that path because it wasn’t taking me where I needed to go…and that’s what brings us to this discussion.

So how is your energy being focused and directed in your life? The reason I called this post “The Passion Of A Life On Fire” is because of the relationship of living your passion, your mission, your life purpose and living a “life on fire”. When you’ve got a strong, fueled intention (it could be to teach children in a way no one else can, it could be to plant 5,000 fruit trees in your lifetime, etc) the intention takes on a life of its own. There’s an ancient saying, “Jing follows Chi, and Chi follows Yi”. What this means is that action and results in this world flow from the energy before them, and that energy is created through intention. The other way around, this shows that the power of our intention determines the energy of that intention, and correspondingly the action and results that flow forth into the world. It all starts with your intention, which may be just a short-term goal at this point!

Have you ever written down a task, chore or even a goal that you wanted to accomplish but felt it completely sap your energy? Maybe you wrote down “clean house and organize files”…and put it off indefinitely. The real reason for this is that your intention isn’t resonating with that deeper part of you. What if instead of writing “clean house and organize files”, you just charged your intention a little more and turned it into the goal “create the most inspiring, beautiful environment for my family”? Which one, running through your head over and over, would drive you to take action? Which would leave you feeling more fulfillfed? Which would give you a greater sense of purpose and direction? Our intention certainly directs our perspective, and our perspective is so intricately tied to how we feel. When we feel like part of something bigger than ourselves, something worthwhile, that can be all it takes to light that fire.

To truly live a life on fire that lets you jump out of bed every morning, follow your intention. Don’t intend to just “get by” if you’ve slipped back into default; intend to live your purpose, your passion, your mission, and intend to do it like no one else can. Here’s another secret: the passion of a life on fire can’t be put out. Ask Gandhi. Ask Martin Luther King. Ask anyone who truly lived life to the fullest and pushed the boundaries of human potential.

On that note, I wish all of you the passion of a life on fire. Whether you’re actively pursuing them or not, what are your passions? Do you have any personal mission? Post them below and get others talking!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

P.S. => The New E-Book Is Here!

Through optimal nutrition, it’s possible to get to a state where you naturally enjoy boundless energy and high moods – all the time. Instead of covering that here, I’m working on a 3-part video series that’ll go over that topic in the context of how to never get sick again. So while that project is being carried out, we’ll go over the best 3 ways to raise both your energy levels and your mood.

1) Do Something You Love

If you ever find yourself trapped in a low-energy or bad mood situation, do something you love to do. Even if it’s getting away for just a few minutes, the effects on your mood and energy are well worth it. To some people that might mean curling up with your favorite book, taking a hike, playing a few rounds of darts…anything that you truly love to do that makes you feel good.

2) Get In A Workout

Who doesn’t feel good after even a quick workout? The trick with workouts is that they’re more like an investment than just winning the energy lottery. You get in the workout, and instead of a quick energy rush that’s gone in a flash, you get hours of sustained energy and enhanced mood as the benefit! It doesn’t have to be at the gym, either; I’ll commonly make up new exercises around the house to keep it fun and feel good at the same time.

3) Turn Up Your Favorite Music

I know of some research that showed physical exercise as the #1 energy enhancer and listening to music as #2. These aren’t two random strategies, they’re the strategies. The important part with music is that you listen to what you love to hear; if you listen to your favorite tunes, your energy will skyrocket. Music has always had an amazing ability to let us forget about the worries of our daily lives and get taken for a ride on the creative side. Find the ones that mean something to you and turn it up!

These are just 3 simple ways to instantly boost your energy and mood – in other words, to feel good! Make a habit of doing what you love, first and foremost. It could be a quick daily ritual, or it could be something you like to go out and do every weekend. I won’t say any more about exercise – we’ve been told enough! But music is one that gets forgotten easily, or you may hear music that doesn’t inspire and uplift you. Find ways to bring empowering music into your life and have some serious fun with all the extra energy ;)

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

According to Robert E. Thayer, Ph.D., an active mood scientist and professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach, the cycle looks something like this: we wake up relatively low on energy, peak in the late morning (11-1pm), drop off in the afternoon (3-5pm), come back up in the evening (6-7pm), and finally drop off around 11pm (if not earlier). Have you seen these cycles at work in your daily life? Reading Thayer’s work was a real eye-opener for me, because I commonly hear people complain about low energy levels in the afternoon, and have certainly experienced less energy there than at other peak points throughout the day. But the truth is, the science of personal energy remains a looming mystery for most of the population…but not you! By exploring personal energy together, we’re bringing in more life and more vitality to really build the foundation for living out our dream lifestyles – whatever shape that may take for you personally.

Really think back over the last few days, or even just over today. Did you feel that high energy running through you somewhere close to 11-1pm? Did you feel a drop off at some point in the afternoon? Seeing the big picture about how our days might look in terms of energy gives us a lot of leverage. Have you ever thought of planning out activities according to your energy levels? According to Thayer, these lower energy levels lead to increased tension and anxiety at these key times of day. “Problems look more serious, people think in more negative terms. We’ve seen this in studies where people’s feelings about exactly the same problem varied widely depending on the time of day.”, says Thayer. My personal take on this is that if you know lower energy is coming, you can be prepared and deal with it masterfullly, rather than being at its mercy!

Some practical applications would include getting done the most challenging, high-level tasks or goals earlier in the day. If you tackle the big report early in the day, you’ll have a clearer mind and more energy to really get it done effectively and efficiently. The late evening may also be a good time to get other important things done, again depending on how your personal energy clock plays out. What about the weekend, when most of us are home or traveling? You could plan projects and challenging yard work at these key energy highs throughout the day. The same goes for exercise – I’ve noticed that I have a lot more energy at certain times of the day when I workout than at other times. It makes a huge difference over time, since your energy levels determine how much strength and endurance you’ll have in each workout!

I hope this post has given you some insight into your natural energy clock, and that you’ll use this information to take all of your actions to the next level. Plan those important, challenging events for your energy highs, and easier, less stressing events for the times when you won’t have quite as much to draw on. By doing so, you’ll reap dramatic rewards in terms of personal energy, peace of mind and clarity about your day.

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett