There is no denying the fact that life continues to grow in complexity and intensity. The challenges we face in building a strong family, succeeding at work in a vibrant global marketplace, and meeting the needs of our community require more than just a casual bystander’s effort to ensure we make a difference. For most of us, we are getting an adult dose of life and need to take some steps to ensure we can keep fighting the good fight.

As we continue on our journey to build and strengthen our character, we need to be intentional about managing our energy level and health to reach our full potential and make a positive impact on those we care about most.

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” This quote has been credited to General George Patton, Coach Vince Lombardi, and a handful of others. Regardless of who said it, it is a truth we can all relate to.

All of us at some point have reached a sense of being burned out, fatigued and not at our best. In order for us to be our best for those we care about most at home, work and in the community, we need to carve out time to take care of ourselves.

Don’t worry, this is not a call to action to take the latest vitamin supplement or exercise craze. Here are a few practical steps to manage our energy and health each day in order to be our best:

1. Be present in the moment: When we remain focused on an individual, a task at hand, or an experience and we eliminate the distraction of multi-tasking, we minimize the energy drain of other mediocre efforts. In addition, being fully present in the moment with someone strengthens the relationship more than anything else we can do. Being mindful to pay full attention in these moment to moment experiences has been proven to support health and happiness.
2. Find moments to decompress: Creating brief moments where we can unplug from the routine cadence of the daily grind provides us a significant source of renewed energy. Whether it is a few minutes of reading, having a snack without the distraction of checking email or social media, or taking a brief walk in the fresh air are all helpful steps to decompress daily and regain some energy.
3. Connect on the long-term plan: We can get overwhelmed daily as we jump from one frying pan to the other which brings about fatigue and frustration at a fast rate. At some point in our day like an early morning or evening before bed, we should pick our heads up and reconnect with the long-term plan of our life. Taking a brief moment to step back and reflect on the big picture beyond our present situation has been proven to create the positive energy necessary to carry on.
4. Nutrition, Exercise, and Sleep: There is plenty of advice we can get on these topics and we all seem to have developed a good pattern of inconsistency on these commitments. This is a quick reminder that they are important and provide a little encouragement to get back on track if you have fallen off the rails.

As we take some small steps to ensure we have the energy to be our best for those we care about most, we build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity to reach our full potential and have a positive impact on those around us.