Expand Your Awareness: What You Probably Don't Know About Your Energy
Energy is shaping our lives and experiences constantly.
From the way we enter a room, interact with others, and communicate in our relationships. So why does it feel so hard to discern and control the energy around us for our benefit?
What are we missing?
Keep reading to connect the dots between what you already feel but don’t know about how energy is tangibly shaping your life.
Energy Explained & How To Identify It
Energy. We know the scientific version. But the more ambiguous, abstract kind is often swept under the rug regarding our personal experiences. Energy affects and forms our lives daily, in a very personal way. The impact of energy in our lives can’t be understated! It’s crucial that we use it with intention to truly enjoy life’s journey.
Your energy is an essential component of satisfaction as well as how you’re showing up and moving through your life in all areas, including:
At home
At work
In relationships
The energy you bring is how you present yourself based on your current mindset and world outlook. It’s the essence of who you are and how you process life and the people around you.
How Energy Impacts You
One of the most significant concepts to understand is that your energy constantly impacts how you interact with others. Your interactions form the majority of your life and your experiences. So it makes perfect sense that they have a direct impact on your happiness and fulfillment, right?
We all view the world through our own lenses based on our beliefs, perceptions, and experiences, which can cause invisible blocks. Have you ever felt “stuck” before and not know why? That’s an example of an invisible block or a blindspot.
These blocks hold us back from authentic satisfaction and joy in life. You can’t always understand why invisible blocks evolve. But learning awareness around how those blocks show up in your life positions you to break down the walls holding you back.
Energy Can’t Be Created or Destroyed – Only Shifted
It’s important to note that energy (the ambiguous kind) follows the same law of conservation: Energy can’t be destroyed or created, only shifted.
This poses the question:
How do you shift energy and use it in a way that serves you and others?
First, you must notice it.
Noticing and Identifying Energy
Most people don’t realize they already have awareness about energy – in some form. But it takes intention and space to find the awareness and identify it. It’s very possible you already notice energy, you just don’t have the language for identifying it.
Have you ever heard yourself (or someone else) say:
“You could cut the tension with a knife.”
“I can sense they are in a bad mood by their body language”
“Did you feel the vibe in that room?”
See? You do notice! You feel it. You just aren’t connecting the dots about how the energy surrounding you is running (or ruining) the show.
Noticing and identifying energy helps you to form healthier habits around difficult situations. You learn to stop projecting and absorbing energy that doesn’t serve you.
And that’s a powerful realization.
Understanding How Energy Shows Up
There are two essential sides of energy – Catabolic (feels draining) and Anabolic (feels fueling). Understanding each side brings context to many situations where you might feel frustrated and confused otherwise.
The Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) has a powerful framework called Energy Leadership that explains these energies in a very relatable way:
Anabolic Energy
Feels: Constructive, expanding, fueling, healing, and growth-oriented.
What it does: It helps move you forward and achieve expansive, long-term, successful results. It’s useful in setting a vision and leading others in the same direction.
What to expect: Using anabolic energy allows you to have a more complete and conscious view of what is going on around you and more easily come up with solutions and innovations.
An example: Think of the last project you worked on when the day flew by. Time didn’t matter. You were engaged and fueled in the moment and probably felt a lot of momentum. And if others were part of the project, there was connection and collaboration – things just felt fluid and in sync.
Catabolic Energy
Feels: draining, resistant, and contracting.
What it does: It provides you with an energetic boost to combat what you perceive to be a stressful situation. It’s also distracting, acting as a blinder only providing a limited view of a situation – reducing the choices available to you.
What to expect: Using catabolic energy may offer some short-term benefits. But when used on a long-term basis, it imparts mental, emotional, and physical tolls that can be destructive to you, your organization, and those around you.
An example: Think of a high-stress moment that felt exhausting when it was over. This could be anything from a triggering subject line in an email to a close call that could have been a car accident… to an ongoing global pandemic.
But be careful not to contrast these two energies as “good” and “bad.”
Doing so could easily lock you into an unhealthy or judgemental mindset. Both Catabolic and Anabolic energy are beneficial in teaching us how to continue shifting and transforming as leaders.
They give us language to discern and process what we already feel intuitively.
How to Distinguish Which Type of Energy is Present
Sometimes it’s easier to start by looking outside of yourself as practice before looking more honestly at your own energy. We all know that person who controls the energy or carries a certain kind of energy with them everywhere they go.
Like… someone who sucks the energy out of you when they’re around.
What is it about that person?
What do they do? How do they act?
How do you let their energy impact your energy?
Take a pause, and you'll realize – energy is either catabolic or anabolic, every time.
Energy is Personal – Are You Taking Responsibility for Yours?
One of the most important things you can do with your energy? Take ownership.
Just noticing your energy holds immense power to shift to a healthier or more beneficial place. Awareness is your friend, friend!
Here’s a classic, relatable example:
I’m a leadership coach. Sometimes I give presentations to teams or departments on leadership energy. Whenever I do these presentations, I start by talking about the current energy or vibe in the room.
Addressing it in this way prompts people to become instantly aware.
They notice.
They get uncomfortable.
They stop slouching.
They sit up straight and look around the room.
They breathe.
I love watching this unfold. It’s an energy shift in action. It’s tangible and we all feel it.
But the bottom line here?
You have to be responsible for the energy you bring. Because you carry it everywhere you go, no matter what.
How Are You Showing Up? Are You Aware of Your Energy?
Pressing pause enables us to slow down and be more aware of ourselves, others, and our environment. When you’re aware, you understand what you control and what your available choices are instead of acting out of habit or a limited perspective.
The energy we bring to a space or how we choose to show up is always our choice:
→At a work meeting that’s dragged on for far too long
→At a meal with friends or family
→When we open our eyes and prepare for the day.
Yes, it’s that simple. Only you can control your energy, whether anabolic or catabolic.
Press Pause and Notice:
Am I reacting to someone else’s energy, or am I centering on my own?
Am I experiencing more anabolic or catabolic energy throughout my day?
Am I surrounding myself with energy that doesn’t serve me?
Take time to notice these things and ask yourself.
Let’s Practice.
Grab your pen and paper or flip to a fresh page in your journal.
Spend a few minutes contemplating and becoming consciously present, opening yourself for awareness. Take a few deep breaths and recenter.
Now reflect on your day so far – hour by hour. Jot down what you’ve done today, line by line.
Woke up
Ate breakfast
Walked the dog
Drank coffee/tea
Sat down at the desk
Worked on X project
Talked with a colleague
… And so on
Now, Consider Your Energy:
→ What energy did you bring to each moment – anabolic or catabolic?
→ Is it the energy you want to bring?
Yes
No
→ Are you proud of the energy you bring into a space?
Yes
No
→ Does it make your day enjoyable?
Yes
No
→ Do you think others enjoy your presence?
Yes
No
If you checked 'No" to any of these boxes, it's not shameful – it's honest!
And great news – honesty unlocks awareness and the choice to shift your energy.
Consider how you might show up to the remaining events today.
What deserves more anabolic energy and what deserves catabolic?
Remember, you cannot create or destroy the energy you sense.
So shift it with intention and watch a change in your experience with others and life.
Looking for more resources to expand your awareness and shift your energy?
The ELI assessment is a wonderful tool to bring awareness to your unique energy points and goals as a leader. Reach out, I’d love to chat.
Encouraging you forward,
Julie