More About Energy

In recent months I've become highly interested and rather fascinated about the concept of people exuding, or draining, energy.

I'd never thought of it all my 28 (!) years before. I'd paid no attention to the way in which some chaps give off a positive and infectious aura, they just have that quality that makes people want to do things and they pass on enthusiasm naturally.

I often look at famous people and fantasise about working under them, not in a "working under Jennifer Aniston" sort of way either.

Richard Branson is one such chap. There's something about his "atmosphere" that makes me feel as if I'd love to work for him. Of course, I hope I never have to be traditionally employed by a company again, but I'm sure you understand my reasoning.

On the other side of things, there are quite a few people that have a complete energy draining effect on me. A few of them are people I've known for years, I'm genuinely fond of them in many ways, just not fond of the way they seem to make me feel.

It sounds like a crazy dichotomy, the fact that I can be fond of someone yet not like the effect that they have on me, but I'll try to explain this one.

There's one person in particular who has worked for me for about 15 years, virtually since the start of the company. I'm fond of him in a slightly fatherly way. I've seen him go through marriage, divorce, crazy relationship problems, work issues and more or less anything else you can think of. And it's not just that I've seen him go through all of this, I've tried to help him as much as I can and he's also asked for help in different ways.

But he's the type who has a dark thunder cloud above his head wherever he goes. According to him nothing good, nothing happy and very little joyous stuff ever happens in his life. His only way of responding to the "How are you?" question is by telling the soon to be uninterested party about all the bad things that happened yesterday. His first name is "Doom", his surname is "Gloom" and his middle name must be "And".

Yet it's only recently that I've realised he has a negative effect on me. I used to just think, like most others who work with him, "Oh God here we go again", every time we interract, which is a good few times a day. All of a sudden I realised that he makes me feel as if someone has sapped my energy. Or more importantly, he actually saps my energy.

My solution to this is to try to minimise contact with him. On the work side I have to communicate with him, but I now keep it businesslike, I don't ask him about his welfare unless I want an injection of negative energy. I think the plan is working. I wonder if it's a bit mercenary, a bit selfish as I'm thinking of myself and not him in any way.

I suppose we all go through big events in our life, as I have done recently. These events can often teach us lessons, if we want to learn lessons that is. One thing I've learnt is who my genuine friends are. There are people who I had expected to stand by me who've deserted me quicker than I thought possible, people who I had really thought of as close friends. Then there have been others who I had thought would run a mile who have been great just to chat with and who have been happy to lend an ear when needed.

I've also realised that the last thing I've wanted is to sit down and have a long heart to heart with someone who's got an air of misery about them. I don't want to pour my heart out to some kind of cheesy Mr Positivity type either, just to get a nice balance. Well, come to think of it I don't really want to pour my heart out anyway, but if I did then I'd want to do it to feel better not worse.

I'm kind of rambling here, unlike the proper writers who most likely start out with a good plan for their posts, I've just chucked words down as they've come into my head, there's no conclusion, no dramatic or serious point to be made and no highly contentious statement for anyone to pick holes in.

But, it's Monday morning. There are energy drainers and there are energy givers. I know which type I want to be and I know which type I want to mix with.

And by the way, if you ever get to meet Java Jones, he's one of those positive energetic types for sure.