Did you ever feel like your "get-up-and-go" got up and deserted you? Has a stressful situation left you feeling drained and unmotivated to perform the simplest tasks?

Most of us have experienced times of stress followed by fatigue. The resiliency to work, play, and enjoy life after stressful times requires enough reserve energy to bounce back.

Bruce Lee said that "… the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind." Flexibility is indeed one key to resiliency.

Those bamboo trees, in bending one direction, build potential energy to bounce back. However, human minds and bodies are not made of bamboo. We might expend more energy while bending under stress than we have in reserve. We can easily break before we bounce.

Depleted energy results in career burn out, depression, and physical illness. Relationships suffer. Periods of intense apathy can steal much of the joy in living. Springing back after a stressful time requires a storehouse of reserve energy.

How can we generate and conserve enough energy to keep us resilient in times of crisis or stress?

Choose Equanimity

Webster defines equanimity as a habit of mind that is only rarely disturbed under great strain. Equanimity is the practice of right disposition, stability, and balance.

Energy reserves can be replenished daily through the discipline of balance. Balance provides flexibility, a quality essential for responding in positive ways to events in all of the major life areas. How can we begin achieving equanimity and balance?

Do Something Enjoyable Every Day

Balance includes taking time daily for relaxation and participation in activities that we enjoy. What do you like to do? Take a sheet of paper or open a text file on your computer now, and write ten things that you love most. Then pick one of those things and do it today.

A wise friend once told me that she kept a happy book. It contained hundreds of things she loved most -- things that made her smile, laugh and daydream. Each day, she made sure she did a few of the things in her happy book. This became a great way to replenish the energy consumed during daily living.

Maintain Total Wellness

Wellness is an actively sought state of health. It includes spiritual, mental and physical well-being. We can perform better under pressure, recover from setbacks, and minimize resiliency fatigue by strengthening our spirits, minds and bodies.

If you feel chronically fatigued, see your physician. Regular health care checkups can help to prevent illness and maintain wellness. Physical fitness, meditation, and gratitude-focused prayer increase energy levels tremendously. Always check with a physician before beginning any exercise or nutritional program.

It is easy to resist making necessary changes in our lifestyle. We would rather not acknowledge habits and tolerations that work against us. Change is uncomfortable.

However, it is an unbreakable spiritual law that whatever we resist will persist and thrive by consuming our energy. What are you resisting that could be stealing your energy now?

Discard Time Excuses

“I don’t have time,” usually means one of two things. It either means the person doesn’t manage time, or it means that they have other priorities.

Your priorities are completely under your control. They will either give energy to you or take energy away from you. If your priorities are not in harmony with your values, they will consume your energy. If you blame lack of time for low energy or neglect of your personal welfare, you are only fooling yourself.

We are completely responsible for how much time we dedicate to various activities. We either control our schedules or our schedules control us.

If we choose to work ourselves to the bone without investing a few minutes in personal growth, it’s not because there is a lack of time. Rather, it’s simply our choice. We must live with its consequences.

Keep Nourishing Your Storehouse of Energy

The ideas I’ve mentioned will help you to create more reserve energy and resiliency. I work from early morning until late afternoon on weekdays, then exercise, read, and relax or socialize during the remaining hours.

One of my biggest joys is writing Ezine issues and web pages on Sunday afternoons. The computer plays peaceful, uplifting music as I work. Doing things that we love in compelling ways naturally builds reserve energy.

God created us with the ability to be very resilient. However, we must nourish that resiliency. So, He also provided ways to laugh, relax, and enjoy improving our lives.

How will you increase your energy reserve and resiliency today?

We can choose to restore our internal energy reserves and become resilient. We can create equilibrium and flexibility by engaging in enjoyable activities, maintaining wellness, and taking responsibility for our time expenditures. Perhaps we can even become as resilient as those bamboo trees!

This article was posted on June 16, 2004

About The Author

(C) 2004 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, and the creator of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Subscribe today by visiting Steve's site at http://www.AchieveEzine.com