Energy – the natural resource in shortest supply, especially for the 100 million Americans who are suffering from chronic or incurable illness.  Just thinking of everyone who needs you can sap out what little energy you have left.  Maybe you feel like you can’t possibly get it all done.  But you know you HAVE to.  People depend on you everyday. Your family. Your friends. Your coworkers. Your clients.  Even your pets!  To meet the demands of life today, you can’t afford to have your energy depleted.  So here are some ways to easily boost those levels right away.
 
1. Aerocize.  I was speaking with a friend yesterday who has Lyme disease. He is so ill he literally cannot exercise.  He was depressed.  I suggested he go out his door (get as bundled up as necessary) and close the door.  Take in deep breaths for 10 minutes.  He could not believe how much better he felt.  If where you are is smoggy, or if there is no way you can get outside, get an air purifier and you will have the benefits of the negative ions anyway.
 
3. Exercise is the energy creator.  Move your body, no matter how little.  If you cannot even move your ankle or wrist joints around in circles, imagine yourself doing it. You know you need it, so why fight it?  Take a walk, even if it is winter.  If you can't walk outside, walk in a mall. Stretch. Elongate those tight muscles.  Dance!  Put on your favorite music and move around (again if you cannot move even minimally imagine yourself doing this.)  It feels so good. If you’re bedridden or for some other reason can’t exercise today, at least visualize doing it in your mind.  You all know the story of the P.O.W. from Vietnam who was imprisoned for 8 years, never exercising. Every day he visualized playing golf, stroke by stroke.  The day he got home he got the best score in golf in his life.The bottom line is we are meant to exercise. The nervous and endocrine systems need stimulation to release endorphins (those feel-good, energy enhancing chemicals).   
 
4. Pump up your energy in your attitude.  Think of life as a school.  When you quit learning, you begin dying. Open your mind; learn something new every day. Make it a game!  Write down your new find in a spiral notebook – nothing fancy. It’s fun to look back and see how much more knowledge you’ve captured over time.
 
5. Clutter – The silent Energy Sucker.  You’ve heard it before – what’s on the outside is a reflection of what’s on the inside. Surrounded by clutter? It has a real physical effect on your energy levels.  Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you to clean out your garage or over-stuffed closet all at once. Set a timer and just take 15 minutes a day to de-clutter your space.  It’s all about baby steps.
 
6. What goes in shows on the outside.  Keep your water intake high. Studies show lack of water is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue. In fact, a mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.  Thirsty yet?
 
7. Let it go. There is a direct relationship between buried anger and your energy levels. Holding onto a grudy or not moving on in your life hurts you more than it hurts anyone else. It only helps you physically and energetically to acknowledge that people have their limitations. If you were hurt, you don’t have to trust that person again.  Ritualize it instead!  Write his or her name on a piece of paper.  Pour all of your painful thoughts into that paper.  Now destroy it. Burn it. Drown it.  Rip it up. Don’t you feel better?  Forgiving and letting go is a selfish act you do to make yourself feel better.  Be a little selfish!
 
8. Money can’t buy you happiness.  But most people refuse to believe it. If you find you are doing things you find unpleasant just for a paycheck, you can be assured your energy is depleted. If you dislike your job or if you have not been able to work because of your condition, try this exercise.   Scan the newspaper for 10 jobs in 4 different fields you could do. These don’t have to be jobs you WANT to do. Just ones that you COULD do. This exercise is meant to teach flexibility. It reframes you in a light you don’t normally see yourself.  With this expansion of possibility, you’ll feel less trapped. More hopeful.  More energized!  Once you see something you might like to do ask friends if they know of a way to do this in the amount of time you have.