The universal law of Conservation of Energy states that within a closed system, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Instead, it transforms from one form to another.

You are, no doubt, a remarkable human. And you likely have more energy than your average.

Yet, the amount of energy you have is the amount of energy you have. And most certainly the amount of time you have is the amount of time you have.

Everyone can make more money but no one can make more time.

There’s an ethos floating around that we must give everything we do 200% effort and energy. That somehow putting more of ourselves into something, no matter what it is, is always better.

I call into question the idea that more is always better.

There are things that we don’t like doing, that drain us, and that we simply must do, at least for a period of time. These are things that we can give our “some”  to.

Let’s say you have a day job that you don’t love, but it pays the bills and gives you benefits while you start your business on the side.

Remember, you only have so much time and energy. Yes, you can do plenty of things to feel more energized, but that’s really a reallocation of the energy you already had.

Example: when you start eating more fruits and vegetables and less refined sugar, the energy that your body was previously using for digestion and to constantly rid itself of the toxins you were putting in is reallocated. Now that energy goes toward making you feel excited for the day and able to last past 7pm without having to crash out on the couch.

So, if you go to your job all day and give it your 200%, taking on extra projects, saying yes to everyone, going to all the meetings, showing up early and staying late, you simply have less energy to give to your business, your family, and yourself.

If you identify as an over-achiever, I bet you can give 80% and still seem as though you’re giving 100%. Your level of excellence is just that high.

Then you can take that extra 20% of energy that you conserved at work by saying no to new responsibilities (especially when not getting paid for them), leaving at 5pm on the button and reallocate it to your business, your family, and your self-care.

When you see the memes floating around on Instagram that there are only 3 choices: giving up, giving in, or giving it your all, I would invite you to consider a 4th choice:

Give it your some.

In many cases, your some is good enough. In lots of cases, your some is better than enough.

When you give your some in some areas, you can give your all where it really counts. 

This is not permission to be a total slacker and let people down all the time (though, let’s be honest, you could probably do a little more slacking and disappointing).

This is a reminder that your energy and time are precious, and not every part of your life deserves your all.

Only some things require your all.

Give your all where it’s needed. Give your some where it’s not. 

The more you conserve your all for when it really counts, the fewer things you’ll have that only require your some, and the more all you’ll have to give.

 

OVER TO YOU:

How do you conserve your energy for the parts of your life that deserve your all? I’d like to hear about it in the comments!