Energy drainers are those things one is tolerating, ignoring, or putting up with that are draining. They can be mental clutter or physical clutter, but when handled they allow you to reclaim lost energy. If you’ll go through coaching, you can be sure that the coach want to know of your energy drainers, and get rid of them in order to focus on building a fulfilling life. Because, without energy or with lack of energy, you won’t be able to accomplish your goals. By contrast, if you do have energy, you will be able to accomplish anything you set yourself out to do.
"Your Personal Eco-System consists of the immediate environment – your home and the people and things around you – and that environment either supports you in achieving your most important priorities, or it slows you down. Your home, office, car, friends, and loved ones function as a system to either support you or slow you down"
— Phil Humbert, Coach
The advantages of dealing with energy drainers is illustrated in the following excerpt from a holiday newsletter by Phil Humbert (2001), a longtime coach and author of a person success newsletter.
“Mary and I spent most of today cleaning out closets. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but we were giving a table and chairs to Goodwill, and started thinking about what else we ought to give. We ended up taking six blankets and assorted towels and linens to a local shelter, a large box of books to the public library, and seceral boxes of housewares, clothes, and assorted odds and ends (along with the table) to Goodwill.
My point? Well, along with feeling virtuous and bragging about how “generous” we are, there is something much larger going on here.
If success is about efficiency (and it partly is), then anything that clutters up the coach’s life, or adds friction, or distracts the coach, or gets in the coach’s way, undermines the success. That’s what the concept of “tolerations” is all about. When we tolerate a few frustrations – a few nuisances and annoyances that sap our energy and reduce our concentration – pretty soon the impact on our effectiveness becomes significant. Don’t do that to yourself!”
As I look at the closets that are the neatest they have been in years, my life is richer tonight. As I look at a dining room that will be more useful and more inviting, I know our meals will be more pleasant, which may reduce stress and improve digestion, communication, diet, nutrition … and the list goes on. All from giving away things that have cluttered our home and our lives.
Your Personal Eco-System consists of the immediate environment – your home and the people and things around you – and that environment either supports you in achieving your most important priorities, or it slows you down. Your home, office, car, friends, and loved ones’ function as a system to either support you or slow you down.
I think of a highly efficient environment as being a Personal Support System, while highly inefficient environments not only create friction and hold us back, but at some point, they can actually become toxic and can kill our dreams – even kill our sense of ambition and hope.
This holiday season, along with the parties and year-end celebrations, take time to clean out your personal ecosystem. Clean up the nest. Clean up any misunderstandings and hurts. Clean out the closets, both literally and figuratively. It will enrich you with an immediate sense of well-being and will allow you to perform at a higher level with greater focus and clarity in the months to come. And, isn’t that what success is about?”
Now, I would hope that you – yes, you – who are reading this, will prepare a list of energy drainers. Ask yourself: “Do I have any energy drainers in my life? People or material possessions? How do these people or material possessions make clutter in your life?” And most importantly: “How can I clean this clutter?”
If you take your time to clean any misunderstandings and hurts, clean up the nests, and clean out the closets, both literally and figuratively, this will give you immediate success in areas of life that could block you from attaining the success you seek!
