Energy

Sometimes energy can seem elusive. Where’s it gone? Where does it come from? I’m not into self-help books as a rule, but this particular book seemed to do the trick: I’ve been feeling energised for the last few days – although maybe I feel it seeping away a bit now…

I have posed the photos of the front and back covers of the book on my watercolour gear which has been cluttering up my desk for days, because I’m hoping to gather up the energy to restart that hobby. Oops! ‘Cluttering up’ probably gives negative, energy-draining vibes to that hope.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book very much. It was well-organised, straight-talking, funny, and made a lot of sense: it has common sense, is sensible, and simply made sense. It helped that the author is a kiwi, which perhaps accounts for her straight-talking.

A major plus for this book is that it is supportive and not critical. It acknowledges the things which drain our energy and is helpful and comforting. I loved the advice to wear your favourite clothes everyday. The author is honest and open about herself: “As an opinionated, extroverted show pony, being seen and not heard and only speaking when I was spoken to took enormous effort!” That, to me, resonates with how women are expected to behave – as people pleasers. “We decide to settle for a role as a background character in other people’s stories. I am here to tell you that you are the main character. Enough of this back-seat shit!”

The book is divided into sections: Physical Energy, Emotional Energy, Mental Energy and Spiritual Energy. In the Emotional Energy section O’Neill writes about people who can drain our energy. She calls them ‘contaminators’ as opposed to people who give us energy, who she calls ‘contributors’. I’ve often felt a bit guilty that there are friendships I haven’t maintained or when I just can’t warm to someone. This book analyses why that might be so. That is helpful.

In Mental Energy, the author acknowledges that everyone is different, even neurodiverse. “Getting your head to work for you is one of the best things you can do. You need to start with awareness. What are you like? Are you negative? Impulsive? Intense? Work out what you are like, and then you have two choices: own it or change it. What you think, you become, and what you feel, you attract.”

O’Neill uses the hilarious image of our thoughts as goldfish. “…they swim in one ear, do a lap and swim out the other. Sometimes they want to continually do laps!” That made me laugh out loud and want to hold on to that image. Although some things in the book are not my thing (diet supplements, chakras) there’s a lot in it I want to remember and refer to again. I might have to buy a copy when I return this one to the library. I found it on the Recent Returns shelves – maybe another lucky person will find it that way too.