Having or lacking energy can be observed in how pro-active people are. The fact that most people lack a sense of self-determination can be witnessed in any scenario:
Example 1: Language Learning
In Language Courses you can see how 80% of language-learners prefer the teacher to give examples of using new vocabulary, to make sentences with new vocabulary and to put them to use. Only around 20% try to create their own phrases and sentences and examples of newly learned words. Doing so does require energy of course. Once students are prompted by the teacher to create their own examples, at least 60% start pro-actively making sentences with 40% still "waiting for something to happen". If they have a teacher that has too much Ego and exerts too much of their own will (a teacher that does too much of the talking), this may further reduce the students efforts. It is not really possible to learn a full language without your own speaking and sentence-making efforts and yet plenty hope it is. They hope a language can be learned without any effort at all. While there are methods to reduce effort, such as deep relaxation, picture-learning and intuitive learning, you cannot really learn a language without some energy coming from yourself.
Example 2: Maintaining Relationships
Its easy to be kind and friendly when your partner is also kind and friendly. But it could require a little pro-active willpower or at least a deliberate intention to stay kind and friendly when your partner is in a really bad mood. And it could require a little more deliberate awareness to stay kind and friendly when your partner is openly criticizing you. Most relationships break up due to energy-exhaustion of the two involved.
Most fights that happen, only happen because one or both of the partners are tired. If you have the energy and have built positive momentum, you can literally maintain a relationship forever. If you have been in a relationship for a long time, it may take some effort not to take the other person for granted but perceive them with fresh eyes, be there for them, and generate some interest. But once you have invested just a little pro-active effort your relationship can go on effortlessly for another few years. The point I am making is: Every time things begin to slide downwards, its time to regain some self-determination and control over your life again, before going back to the effortlessness of auto-pilot. And I`ll share a little secret here: Any relationship, with anyone at all, can be positively maintained with your loving attention to it and them and yourself. If you are clear and cleaned-up within yourself, almost any partner is the right one and any relationship carries the potential for mutual growth.
Example 3: Professional Life
Anytime you find yourself waiting for something to happen or waiting for better times to come or waiting for an offer or a customer or money, you are in reactive mode. Self-determination, fueled by personal will, does not wait for something better to happen. It goes into focused and inspired action today, making dozens of decisions in a day, finishing dozens of instances of procrastination, initiating new ideas and approaches. If you feel unable to do that, review previous articles on how to accumulate more energy and willpower. Life is on hold as long as you are on hold. Life starts moving again, once you start moving. Nothing happens to you, everything happens through you. In a previous article we have already seen how making decisions can deplete energy. But once you get into the habit of it, it no longer depletes willpower but rather gives you energy. You are then in a state of Flow regarding decision-making and action. If things seem to be on hold in your life, I recommend you go on a "Rampage of Action" by getting done more in one day than you got done the entire previous month. After such a Rampage you will be tired when going to bed. But it will be the kind of tiredness that feels really, really good and creates a deep and restful sleep.
Example 4: This website
Through my own energy and will, I have been able to write a thousand articles in a fairly short time and publish them here and elsewhere. Frequently people ask me how I do it and I tell them its just "Flow", something I have invested so much willpower into, that it is now completely effortless to write. I sometimes forget that its not that easy for most people to write. This was brought home to me recently, while asking for people to write and submit "Miracle Stories" for this website. Of the 5000 visitors this website gets each month, I only received about half a dozen submissions of "Miracle Stories". And while reading and consuming information (especially spiritually helpful information) is well and good, and also requires some concentration (willpower), its a little more powerful to write articles of your own. Granted, it requires more energy, but what you put out is what you get back. The idea that if you invest energy into something it is energy (time, money or attention) spent, may seem accurate, but from a metaphysical standpoint it is flawed. Everything you give actually comes back to you and usually manyfold.
