Many people race out of bed, their body several paces behind their overreaching mind. This sets them up for what I call power leaks. If people realized how much control they have over their emotions and how their emotions impact their decisions, I think they would take the time to start their day differently so they avoid power leaks.
Athletes prepare for games mentally by developing strategies to manage pressure, maintain focus and build confidence. This often involves techniques like visualization, positive self-talk, and pre-game routines. By focusing on controllable aspects of their performance and practicing mental skills, athletes can optimize their mental state for peak performance.
As moms, dads, working professionals and students, we can stay in command of our senses and emotions if we have strategies in place that help us harness and focus our mental energy. When we do this, our performance will be better because we will feel less harried. Even our relationships will thrive under a focused and disciplined set of practices.
When you are over emoting, harried and scattered, a disproportionate amount of energy is in your brain, thereby starving the rest of your body of energy and oxygen. This is a highly dangerous state. It’s not possible to have any type of emotional, mental and spiritual sense of well being which in turn throws your body’s equilibrium completely off. This is why people have the proclivity to overreact, get defensive and make decisions that they end up regretting. All of this is preventable if you start your day by setting your intentions. How so? By talking to God first thing in the morning. Ask Him to help you make your words, thoughts, and actions count, to walk in obedience to His commands and to blaze a trail of excellence in all things.
If you start your day in a foot race, nervous energy can gain steam. In this state of mind, you won’t likely be able to detect God’s voice, his warning signs or see how He is manifesting himself in the details of your day.
If you find yourself in the midst of a power leak, be still. The writer of the book of Psalm 46:10 in the Bible states, “Be still, and know that I am God.” This verse encourages believers to cease striving and to trust in God’s sovereignty, especially during times of turmoil or uncertainty. Another verse, is Exodus 14:14 which speaks to this same concept, saying, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still”.
I used to suffer from severe anxiety even though I would never let on that I did. I was very high functioning and refused to complain. I also had a company to run and so I saw it as my job to lift others up and be a good example. I was the person who would never do yoga, breathing exercises or meditate. Why? I was a type A personality and needed to run or cycle to expend my mental energy. I never really learned to be still. Or even calm. And so I wasn’t able to harness my God-given, beautiful, 880 volts of energy. I was giving it away to others, letting them tap into me and make me feel unwell. All of this anxiety turned into a growing sense of lack which catapulted me into a personal identity crisis. My identity crisis came about in part because I was fighting battles in my own strength, forgetting to call upon the Lord. I was the person who ate standing up or driving, and who raced out of bed. I was the person whose mind was a mile ahead of her feet. When I changed my routine, my life changed. It is indescribable the transformation that took place.
Having a healthy prayer life and growing relationship with the Lord is how you put on the full armor of God and harness your power.
If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit is your superpower and holy helper because He is an infinite source of wisdom, power and strength. Being ’empowered’ by the Holy Spirit is the antithesis of having a power leak. In other words, if you are having a power leak, your power source is not turned on and you are not availing yourself to the power that is within you.
