I was eighteen when I got my first iPhone. It created a whole new world for me because my friends had smartphones for what seemed like forever, and all I had was a flip phone. What I didn't realize was that the batteries in smartphones SUCK. If you use the internet for a decent amount of time, chances are you are going to have to charge that bad boy up again so it won't die by five o'clock.
WE are just like phones in that sense. When we do things that drain us, we also have to recharge. Unfortunately, many people neglect "charging up" and function on two percent of their battery.
My life is crazy busy, and I feel like I am always going, going, going. I usually feel pretty awesome about life, but sometimes, I feel mentally exhausted. A few months ago I was asked two questions, "What is something that drains you, and what is something that charges you up?"
It took me a minute to really understand the question, but I recognized that whenever I was mentally exhausted, it was because I had been doing so much for other people I couldn't keep up. I am the gold medal winner of never saying "no."
As I admitted this, I thought about the second part of the question. "What fuels me up?" I am literally smiling right now because the sunshine is something that recharges me. Going on bike rides sets my mind at peace, and singing my heart out makes all my worries fade away. These are a few things that charge me up, and it's made a huge difference in my life knowing the thing that drains me as well as the thing that brings my battery back to a healthy level.
My husband was asked this same question and his answer didn't really surprise me but it did because I wasn't respecting either of his answers as much as I should have.
He told me that big crowds and lots of people suck the life right out of him. He also said that playing video games and watching Netflix was a way to put the mental energy back inside.
It was weird to me that him playing video games was actually a necessity in our relationship. However, now that I've embraced his inner gamer, our relationship is a LOT stronger.
So, my questions for you are, "what drains your battery?" and "what recharges it?" Ask yourself these questions and set aside some time to refuel your battery when it's depleted.
Taking the time to ask your friends, family, and significant other these questions might help you understand and respect them more. We all know that feeling when our phones have reached one percent, and we literally sprint to the nearest charger hoping we make it before our phone dies. Well, make it a goal to mentally recharge before it gets to that point!
