Life and business are busy enough without the distractions of people and things who suck you dry and give you little in return – these are your energy vampires.
You know the people – the ones who, when you answer their calls, you instantly regret it. You know the things – they suck us in for hours before we extract ourselves and realise how long we’ve spent doing nothing. Your energy vampires are any people, thought pattern, activity or habit that drains your life force. They can be hard to recognise and extremely difficult to eliminate. But if you need more sanity and time for other things then taking the garlic to your energy vampires is a great starting point!
If you can’t recognise any energy vampires in your life then maybe you aren’t looking hard enough! Keep a time journal for a week, documenting how you spend every 15 minutes of the day. I am sure you will find out some interesting things about yourself and your life!
Some common vampires are: friends with issues, social media, television, and decision-making.
Let’s start with the humans. People can be poisonous. You can claw back some of your time and emotional health by limiting the time you dedicate to the people who make you feel flat (even if they are related to you!).
Let your phone calls go to messages and if you must see these vampires make your interactions timebound – calling or meeting just before you have to go somewhere else. Let them know at the outset how long you have to spend with them and slowly reduce the frequency and length of interactions. Let go of relationships you do not need and surround yourself instead with people who support your business vision in positive and constructive ways.
In is important to identify people, thoughts or actions that suck your energy away from pursuing your dreams. After dealing with the people who are your energy vampires we can then move on to the thoughts and the habits too. You are in control of how you spend your time so make the most of it.