I prefer to talk about it in terms of energy because it is descriptive without triggering alarm bells and whispers.

I have low energy right now.  I suspect many people reading this feel it too.  In winter we call it Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.).  If not you, you will likely know someone who is ‘acting not like themselves’.  They might seem angry or defensive.  They close their door with too much force or shut down conversations abruptly; or withdraw from their usual activities or interactions.  Lots of ways low energy is observable.

It’s not a good feeling, but it is OK.  It will pass.  Yet in the meantime your productivity goes down, and that could cause some unwanted scrutiny.

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There are things you can do to get through the phase of low energy.  Here is a list of things I do and am doing, this week…

1. Breathe, slow, deep and long. I hold my attention on this simple bodily function.  While doing so, I name the sensations, such as the temperature of the air through my nostrils, the sound of my breathing, the rise and falling of my chest and abdomen.  It’s simple, yes, but don’t underestimate the power of this idea until you try it.

2. Listen to my inner voice.  When the thoughts and words are negative, I describe them and let them go.  I replace the words with positive words.  Here’s an example of how I reworded my thoughts from …” everything is going to shyte’ and replaced it with ‘this new challenge will ignite my superior problem-solving skills”.  Again, don’t underestimate this simple deliberate act of changing your language.  Remember, words create worlds.   If your words are powerfully negative, you get negative results.

3. Look up!  I have a tendency to look down as I walk, so I need to consciously raise my head and look forward and up.  I remind myself to look into people’s eyes and look at the sky when I am outdoors.  I search for every shade of blue in the sky and green in the landscape, yes, even over a snow filled landscape.

4. Seek uplifting company.  I reach out to people who will give me the space to unload, but they don’t join me in my misery.  They listen and then help me reframe and encourage me to see what is going well.

5. Stop scrolling all the usual content that gets delivered to my social media feed.  It is a habit that reinforces any reason that I must be discouraged or concerned about the world.  It is a useless pastime.  And, shut off the audible notifications.  One just went off while I was writing this, and it pulled me to look at my phone.  And it triggered a near uncontrollable urge to see what is going wrong now.

6. Give myself a sick day.  I call it the 24-hour blue flu.  I give myself permission to rest without guilt or frustration.  At the end of the 24 hours, I get going whether I feel better or not.  I choose to take action.  That action is something that is either easy to do or something that I enjoy doing, to provide some fuel for my energy.

Energy…that word again.  It has everything to do with everything.  It is not the type of energy that can get taxed or tariffed and it is an unlimited resource when you decide to focus on growing it.