One important thing I've realised recently is that happiness sometimes comes with a cost.
And that cost is energy.
What do I mean by this?
Well, there are things which make me happy and give me energy…
But there are other things which make me happy and sap my energy.
I’ll give you a couple of examples…
Reading a book makes me happy and energises me.
Hanging out with friends makes me happy too…
But I know my energy levels will be lower at the end than they were at the start.
Now, part of this is because I’m an introvert.
People think of introverts as geeks, loners or wallflowers.
But none of these is really true (although I am a bit of a geek).
The truth is that introverts gain energy be being alone.
That’s it.
So it’s hardly surprising my energy levels reduce when I’m hanging out with friends…
Even though I’m having fun.
The opposite tends to be true for extraverts.
Seeing friends gives extraverts energy and reading a book may do the opposite.
Is this making sense?
You may be thinking…where’s Tom going with this?
Well, there’s lots of information out there about happiness…
But there’s less on energy.
And I think it’s a useful distinction to bear in mind.
Not everything which makes us happy gives us energy.
And vice versa.
Knowing this means you can manage your energy and happiness in the way which suits you best…
And balance the two rather than focussing on one or the other.
On which note I’m going to wrap this up.
Hope you got something from this email.
Enjoy your day.
- Tom
p.s. Are you feeling stuck about what to do next in your career? Or are you clear, but looking for some support to make it happen? If so, I’d like to invite you to a free Discovery Call. We can explore your options and talk through how I can help you achieve your specific goals. The link to book a call is here. I'd love to hear from you.