Why can’t I overdraw my emotional bank account?

Unlike a bank account our emotional bank accounts cannot be overdrawn. Yet, so many of us try to do just that. We’re on the go so much of the time that, eventually, our batteries run down. Then instead of taking the time to recharge our batteries we wonder why we don’t have any energy. We think we should have an endless reservoir of energy to draw on like we did when we were kids.

Obviously, overdrawing our emotional bank accounts does not work, so what’s the remedy? How do we recharge ourselves and still meet all of our obligations? Well, I am in the middle of such an episode, so I’ll share with you how I got here and what I am doing about it. I have just gone through an incredibly busy eight month period. It ended in early January when we completed our move into our new office. I was proud of what I had accomplished, but totally spent emotionally.

What to do? Generally, I have several steps to take in order to restore my balance when I get out of whack like I did recently. Hopefully, they will prove useful to you:

1) Tell everyone you care about that you feel drained. Tell them that until you get the wind back in your sails you may feel somewhat disengaged compared to your normal self. This lets them know not to take your behavior personally and it lets you conserve your emotional energy without hurting other people’s feelings.

2) Look at your calendar. Get everything off of it that isn’t essential.

3) Put things on your calendar that are designed only to put a smile on your face. For example, I called a friend in California earlier this month. I spent $240 on a round trip plane ticket, and went out to see him for three days. It was wonderful! Great to see my friend and great to relax in the sun for a few days.

4) Take time to be quiet every day. This can really be relaxing.

5) Exercise daily, even if it’s just a walk.

It may seem to you like the above steps are a luxury you cannot afford. But think about this. When an airliner loses pressurization, passengers are instructed to place the oxygen mask on themselves before assisting anyone else. Are you getting enough oxygen?