Energy

What is energy?

Energy, for the dictionarily impaired, (and for the purposes of this post) is defined by Merriam-Webster as: "A fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity for doing work."

Wow. That definition alone makes me tired. I can't understand why people don't feel more energetic after reading it.

Okay, let's try this: "usable power (as heat or electricity); also, the resources for producing such power."

That's somewhat better.

Why do I write on it on a Monday morning, which (too often) is my least energetic day of the week because my body insists on waking me up early every Monday as a sort of pre-stress exercise for the work week?

Because I need more. Because energy, along with time, is the currency of life.

Think about it. What in life is not accomplished without energy - at the bottom line, with the energy of individuals? Any great project is the sum total of thousands of people contributing their small store of energy through their work to the large whole. Likewise, any personal project is also (ultimately) dependent on the energy of the individual to accomplish it.

Energy takes two forms: both physical and mental. Much can be done with one or the other (else only the hale and hearty could accomplish things, which is not at all true); true progress lies in both. But without both, life becomes a struggle to get started and get through each and every morning.

Where does this energy come from? Multiple sources, if I think about it: our bodies need rest and food and exercise. Our brain needs the rest as well (ever tried working for long periods of time on sleep deprivation?) and food, but it also needs a third thing: it needs passion.

It needs passion. Measure the difference between a personal project you have interest in and how eager you are to spend as much time as you can doing it versus the same level of interest you have on a task (for me, often work related) in which no passion is present. The difference in energy, in enthusiasm not only to start but to continue, is stunning.

But back to my basic point/concern: energy (along with time) is the currency of life. How do I get more?

Sleep? Yes, I know what my needs are for sleep even as I begrudge them (at least 7 hours a night). Food? My diet's okay, could always be better. Exercise? I try; part of my challenge is finding modes of exercise that I stay interested in. Passion? Hmmm, there the rub: that which I do most of all I am the least passionate for, that which I do the least I am most passionate for. If that is the case (and I believe it is), then it is no wonder that upon my arrival home I am not feeling excited about all I can do but exhausted - passion is often not the car key ignition of desire and cannot just be "flipped on" because I happen to be where I can practice it.

But that is not going to change overnight either. So the question remains: How do I get more energy, more of the currency of life?