Need more energy

Off the top of my head $Layla$, a few issues that come to mind are, diet, excercise, mindset, self-esteem, encouragement, and pacing (includes breaks, change of scene, etc).

I've been eating more and more salads lately, and I find that I always feel great after eating raw food, especially salads. It's simple, but often, for me, a salad a day keeps the doldrums away. I also eat mostly whole foods, like fruit, oatmeal, rice and vegi stir fry (vegis not too soft), etc. I've met a few raw foods people who all say they had tons more energy when they went raw. I don't want to go that far, but just increasing my intake of raw fruits and vegis has noticeably increased my energy.

I also find it greatly refreshes my mind and body to take at least a 30-60 minute walk every day. Don't think of it as a chore; I recommend going someplace beautiful that you enjoy walking; it should be a pleasant outing. Stretching is great too; a 5 minute yoga break can be an excellent pick me up.

So that covers diet and excercise (obviously far from comprehensively).

Pacing is really important for any serious work towards a goal. Example: If I have to drive 500 miles a day for a couple days, I arrive dragged out and sore if I don't take enough breaks. Just stopping for a few minutes to walk and stretch every 2-3 hours transforms my experience, makes me a safer driver, only adds perhaps an hour to a 2 day trip, and lets me arrive fresh and happy, as opposed to sore and dragging.

Possibly the problem could be as simple as this: maybe we are not made to sit for hours without interruption, and especially in front of a machine that's putting out energy fields which might interfere with your body's energy. Honor yourself by walking away every 30 minutes, even if it's just to go to the bathroom, or walk to another room for a moment.

Mindset, self-esteem and encouragement:

From your post I'm guessing that you drive yourself pretty hard, and perhaps are pretty hard on yourself when you aren't living up to your own expectation (I admit that's a guess, so I hope you aren't offended if it's not true; however, most of us are pretty harsh self-critics, so it seems worth addressing).

I know when my self-esteem isn't up to par, it makes it much harder to muster up enthusiasm to work toward a goal. The inner critic can wreak havoc with any goal driven activity. Sort of like giving a speech in front of a room full of people rolling their eyes at every comment, only it's all in your head.

Remember that if you are like most warriors, you're aspiring to a level of success way beyond what you've ever had before. This requires expanding your self-image. I'm betting most people don't go from, say a $30-40K job to a 6+ figure income without some inner conflict as they struggle to take themselves seriously as a successful entreprenuer. Inner conflict takes energy, and you may experience an increase if you can get more comfortable with the idea of yourself as a massive success. For me, and I suspect a lot of others, this requires ongoing attention, as there are parts of you that are quite uncomfortable with change, even change for the better.

I suggest honestly assessing any attitudes and self-limiting beliefs that might be sucking energy from you. For example, perhaps like most people, you hang out with others at roughly the same income level as you. Do you feel twinges of guilt or fear of rejection when you imagine being wildly successful while they remain at their present level? If you don't resolve that one, it can zap your energy as well as cause you to subconscously make choices that keep you at the level you're comfortable with; since fear of losing one's support system can outweigh the anticipation of financial freedom.

Mindset is a big subject, and there are lots of great resources to help you with it, as you probably know. If you're like me, you've checked out a lot of life changing information, and it gives you a boost, but after a while, you lose sight of the big insights, or you remember them, but they've somehow lost their impact.

At any rate, for me there are critical ingredients to my mindset that can directly impact my energy level as I work toward my goal/s.

Ingredient #1: Excitement about what I'm doing! This involves an excited anticipation of success, as well as a belief that what I'm doing has value to myself and others. Sometimes I have to adjust my goals downwards in order to get excited, as I'm forced to admit that I can't see myself succeeding as fast as I felt I could when I first set the goal. I would love to make $10K online next month, but I might get more juice out of visualizing $1K, or even $500, because I can really believe it's doable for me.

Ingredient #2: A great reason to succeed! A million in cash sounds great, but only because of all the things that will mean. For me, it means I'll be going on adventures with my brother several times a year (backpacking, ocean kayaking, etc), living in a great house of my own, giving tons of money to causes I love, providing more income for my mom than she or I have ever experienced, traveling with her to several Asian countries, building my own music studio (more accurately, causing it to be built), etc, but most importantly, spending my time on things I really want to be doing, and helping people I love do the same! Every time my energy is flagging, I remind myself of the deeper reasons I want success, and it's usually a big energy booster. If it doesn't work, that's usually a clue that I need to work on my self-esteem so I can really believe that I can do it

Ingredient #3: Gratitude for the life I already have. According to some of the "manifestation" folks, getting what you want requires that you are grateful for what you already have. I don't know, but for me, being grateful just feeds my spirit.

Ingredient #4: Belief that it's possible, and specifically, that I can do it. We all love success stories, because we enjoy fantasizing what it would be like if it happened to us. Getting from fantasizing to really believing, to planning, strategizing, and implementing is the real key, and I won't say it's easy, but it's worth doing! Until the belief is really solid, there's conflict between your goal and what you believe you can do. That can take away a lot of the energy you have for working towards it.

Developing a strong mindset is much easier to do with encouragement from respected and trusted mentors/associates/friends/loved ones. If you're married, often your spouse is who you look to first for support. But often they are the hardest to get it from, for a few reasons. Perhaps they've seen you try at several things without much to show for it, and don't want to be dissappointed again, so they roll their eyes at your latest "scheme". Or perhaps they are threatened by your success, for reasons stated above. Or because they lack self-esteem and worry that if you gain wealth, you'll start looking to "trade up". Or maybe they feel competetive and don't want you to outshine them.

Whatever the reason, it's best not to waste too much energy on "selling them". Just look for encouragement elsewhere, and surprise them. Mastermind groups are powerful because we all encourage one another, so if you don't get enough encouragement, joining or starting one can be life changing.

Having an "accountability buddy" can provide a lot of encouragement. So can a personal coach, if you can afford it. I have one who I found by interviewing a few. I love my coach, and he gives free sample sessions to potential new clients. I'd be happy to set you up with him if you like.

I hope some of what I said helps. If you do everything you can and still find you're dragging, it might be worth exploring possible health issues that could account for low energy, but beware of doctors that want to pump you full of hormones (they killed my grandma with hormones-gave her breast cancer). I recommend alternative health care providers, especially naturopathic physicians.

Good luck, and pat yourself on the back for already being having taken two of the most important steps to solve any problem: identifying it, and asking for help!

PS: I got carried away with the lenght of the post; do you think it might be the seed for an ebook?

I don't know if you go to the gym? But working out releases huge amounts of latent energy from the body. Initially you may feel tired but later on its like having a caffeine fix with all those good chemicals released.

Also I find procrastination and no productivity is a mental killer. The guilt you feel from putting things off will constantly nag you.

Read other people's threads for motivation.
Also, energy drinks, coffee and sleep

I think that obviously diet and exercise are the keys.

I would also suggest using music. When i am stuck submitting articles to directories or god forbid a website to online directories - I often PUMP some loud obnoxious music to keep me energized.

I'm pretty direct.

Normal days: 5-Hour Energy shots- drinks with no sugar & zero net carbs

Rough days: SpikeShooter.com

I'd suggest you PLAN everything you intend to do. As the saying goes, "if you do not plan, you plan to fail". Even if you do decide to walk, sit in front of your PC, gym, meditate etc, you'll find yourself more effective if you follow a definite plan. Do that and you will noticeably increase your productivity.

The number one reason you are losing energy is food.
If you eat food which is hard to digest, you actually
wasting more than a half of your body energy.

Start eating healthy, and do some moving. When you move,
your body get metabolizm and that's where energy comes from.

~Igor

Definitely fresh air, regular breaks, and drink plenty of water.

Enjoy the journey.

Mandy

It could be that you're doing TOO much. I've had to learn to take days off.

I worked so long and so hard that I developed medical problems. It was nothing for me to work 16-18 hour days. This time last year, I had high blood pressure, an ulcer, and had gained 40 pounds.

Since then, I've dropped the weight and am healthy again. I make myself take days off, regardless of the amount of work that I have. Maybe you need to take a week or two off to recharge your batteries. It sounds like a typical case of burnout. I also exercise about 5-6 days a week. It's a life-saver for me not only physically but also mentally.

I find that my do-nothing days are the best remedy for curing my burnout. Saturdays are my free days. I do nothing productive and it works wonders for me.

You might want to see a doctor so they can evaluate whether there's something truly wrong. Other than that, making sure your diet is as nutritious as possible could help you have more energy.

Watch inspirational videos.

Get out of the house and do something physical (run, play basketball, go the gym,etc)

Eat good and eat plenty.

Be inspired by life itself.

I personally don't sit in front of the computer for hours on end, I hire people to do it for me.

There are going to be so many things back to back you need to attend to in a business, much less if you have many businesses going on at the same time. It's going to absolutely sap you of energy. It's really boring to be sitting in front of the computer.

What you should be doing instead, is focusing on growth, instead of maintenance. What is the most effective way to grow?

3 things. Beneficial, detrimental and neutral elements in your business. Accordingly...

Benefits => Multiply

Detrimental => Switch

Neutral => Tweak

I personally like my own thought space, or talking face to face with fellow businessmen or marketers. The computer isn't a substitute for that!

Other times, I'll just go for a jog, play some basketball, tennis or even golf. Balance is key. Play hard, work hard. And to do that, you need effective time management.

Definitely take frequent breaks take them before you get tired. Another thing that helps is to get really passionate about what you`r e doing, when u get tired ask yourself how bad do u want this, I found that when I say I want it! I get a boost of energy.

Some great tips over here! I can't work if I skip my daily workout at the gym. It simply gives you motivation, concentration willingness to succeed. Staying the whole day in front of the computer makes me unproductive.