Energize Your Work

How do you get going in the morning?

I'm not talking about coffee - I like that as much as anyone. What practice or ritual do you do to energize your mind, spirit, and body for work? That's important, because that's largely how we energy our work, by energizing ourselves.

I do some things on a consistent basis. I pray each morning, mostly giving thanks for so many wonderful blessings. Sometimes I ride my bike, sometimes I walk and in either case it becomes a kind of moving meditation that is both relaxing and reinvigorating.

I write. I list. I focus on my goals. All of these things get me going.

Because I live a diverse life that straddles many disciplines, sometimes my warm-up practice varies based on what performance I'm taking on. But there's always some kind of warm-up.

Singers warm-up their voices. Athletes warm-up their muscles. Writers warm-up their ideas (one great way is thru automatic writing, simply writing whatever comes to mind as a way to get ideas flowing, especially as detailed in The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, one of my favorite books.)

Every practice needs a warm-up; every goal needs a spark. How will you energize your work today?

If not today, how about tomorrow?

-- Doug Smith

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