positive Life 2-4

4.2 Discussion. Identifying and Eliminating Energy Drainers

Getting Started

Emily has a tendency to procrastinate. For example, she typically doesn’t start her school assignments until just hours before the deadline. This often means late nights and sometimes all-nighters. Even then, she starts her study time with email, social media, and some music videos she’s been wanting to watch. She tells herself that she needs this social engagement to “warm up” for studying. When she finally starts, the pressure she feels is crushing. She leaves herself no time to make mistakes or to work on a second draft. As a result, her grades are mediocre and the self-imposed stress she regularly experiences from this pattern is taking a toll on her health.

Nathan has been aptly tagged “bibliophile” by his friends. He loves books and reads widely. But he has so many books in his modest living quarters that there is no clear space. Books are piled on his desk, stacked on the floor of his bedroom, and scattered like throw pillows on all of the furniture. When people suggest that he give away some books or just stop buying them, he refuses to consider either option. Nathan lives in a perpetual environment of clutter.

Emily and Nathan are two examples of people who live with ongoing energy-draining behaviors. They don’t think this is the case, but it is true nonetheless. They are so accustomed to this pattern of behavior that they can’t see how detrimental their way of living actually is. Energy drainers, such as procrastination and disorganization to name just two, compromise a person’s ability to think clearly and strategically about how to make the most of their time, live with purpose, and accomplish what is most important.

One of the more important tasks life coaches perform for their clients is helping them to identify and eliminate things in their life that drain their creative energy. People often accept these energy drainers as an inevitable part of their lives without recognizing the burden it creates. Procrastination and disorganization aren’t the only culprits. Other common energy drainers are being in unhealthy relationships, practicing poor self-care, holding negative thought patterns, and bottling up your emotions, among others.

This discussion will help you identify some of your own energy drainers while also exposing you to how you can use a similar approach to help your coaching clients identify and eliminate the energy drainers in their life.

Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:

· Identify tasks and behavioral patterns that drain energy and block creativity and motivation.

Background Information

A good place to identify what your energy drainers might be is to look at the areas of your life where you currently feel stress. Chances are good that somewhere embedded in that scenario or behavior pattern, there is at least one energy drainer that you could eliminate or change in a way that makes it less taxing on you.

Instructions

1. Read Chapter 10 in your textbook,  Becoming a Professional Life Coach: Lessons from the Institute for Life Coach Training.

2. Read the article,  Overcoming Energy Drainers (new tab) .

3. Navigate to the discussion topic and respond to the following discussion prompts:

a. Name at least three energy drainers that affect your creativity, mental clarity, or motivation. Label each and then specifically explain how each affects you.

b. What might you be able to accomplish if you were to eliminate these energy drainers in your life? Be realistic and phrase your response as a goal.

c. What concrete steps could you take in the next 10 days to begin to eliminate these energy drainers? What would you replace them with? Be specific.

d. How is this exercise consistent with concepts you’ve learned in positive psychology? Suggest at least one way.

e. How might you be able to use this exercise in your next coaching session in Workshop Five?

4. Your initial post:

a. Should be at least 500 words.

5. Your postings should also:

a. Be well developed by providing clear answers with evidence of critical thinking.

b. Add greater depth to the discussion by introducing new ideas.