Connect with us

Life

10 Action Steps To Help Restore Your Energy

Published

on

10 Action Steps To Help Restore Your Energy

How many times have we kicked ourselves after making a decision that drained our energy?

These include overeating, skipping the gym, watching too much late-night TV, and too many negative thoughts (just to name a few).

The key to performing at our peak energy level is to identify exactly what’s sucking the life out of us. Armed with that knowledge, we make the decision to live a life of absolute exuberance.

So, what are the biggest energy drains? More important, how can we combat them? I’m glad you asked!

 

1. Negativity and thoughts

Our own negative thoughts will eventually have us playing the victim in the game of life, as if we’ve been slighted or unlucky.

And then there are the negative external influences all around us that we receive from news outlets and friends who gossip.

These thoughts are wasted opportunities. We could be using our mental energy in more positive ways! Always remember that we have only a finite number of thoughts each day.

Make every one count.

The people around us can influence our visions in ways that will eventually have us believing we’re average people. Don’t get me wrong, we should all know how to function in social settings, and we shouldn’t get so lofty about our goals that everyone runs from us.

Yet always remember that the thinking that got us where we are today is likely not the same thinking we need to use to move to the next highest level. Know your vision, and don’t accept that your plans include conforming to someone else’s limited beliefs.

How you can take action: Share your goals. Communicate your vision to those around you. They’ll naturally cling, run away, or eventually understand why you have cut back the amount of time you spend with them.

If you don’t plan your life, someone else will. Rather than passively watching the daily news, choose those media outlets that align with your vision and your life plans.

“What’s easy to do – is also easy not to do.” – Jim Rohn

2. Brain clutter

Excessive brain clutter will eventually drain us. Is it the uncompleted to-do list?

David Allen, time-management legend and author of Getting Things Done, says get rid of brain clutter.

How you can take action: A goal without a “due by” date is just a wish draining your mind. Dump the brain clutter onto paper, discard it, or schedule it so it gets done.

 

3. Information overload

Where is the information overload in your life? Is it the number of Facebook updates, emails, text messages, or requests by people around you?

How you can take action: Cut back on how many times a day you check information feeds. Shut them all down when there’s a task at hand. This alone action teaches ongoing discipline, and productivity increases as a result!

I recommend setting a timer for the task at hand so that messaging doesn’t interfere with your productivity. When the timer goes off, take a break and check on necessary updates. Handy timers are usually installed on phones and computers.

 

4. Focusing on the past

One of my favorite motivating quotes is, “The past is a cashed check.” Focusing excessively on our past mistakes won’t change anything at all.

There’s nothing wrong with reflecting on the past and reliving the pain of a mistake in moderation, but focus most of your attention on not repeating that error in the future.

Staring into the rearview mirror is a sure way to wreck future plans! Instead, shift your energy to what lies ahead.

How you can take action:  Accept the past but focus on the future.

 “I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.” – Abraham Lincoln

 5Lack of mental rest

Excessive use of your brain is similar to overworking a muscle. Without proper rest, it eventually becomes depleted.

Darren Hardy from Success.com says he should be paid for resting as much as he is for producing. Proper rest is what determines our level of performance when our brain is called upon.

How you can take action: Mental rest doesn’t mean we should watch a movie or listen to a podcast. Mental rest means meditation, exercise, or simply doing something that requires minimal effort by one’s mind. Read affirmations or positive quotes, play a pickup game, or go for a walk with a positive friend.

 

6. Overeating

If you can’t do anything else when it comes to your health, control the amount of food you eat at one sitting.

Digesting food is one of the body’s most intensive and energy-consuming tasks.

If you’re lacking energy because your body is overwhelmed by the job of digestion, you won’t be able to think, read, communicate, make wise decisions, or exercise at optimal levels.

How you can take action: Never overfill your plate. Get up from the table when you have eaten just enough. Fill your plate with greens so that if you overeat, at least the food will have provided you with the proper nutrients; in addition, it’s much harder to overeat green foods.

“Activity without purpose is the drain to a life of fulfillment.” – Tony Robbins

7. Sugar spikes

A sugar spike drains energy because it creates an imbalance of sugar levels, and I promise you that artificial sweeteners are not an alternative to sugar.

Remember too that when we work out, sugar is burned before fat, so the less sugar there is to burn, the faster our bodies begin to tap into burning fat.

How you can take action: If you have a healthy diet in place, your sugar cravings should diminish. Eat a healthy diet filled with greens (kale, spinach, broccoli and green beans).

 

8. Processed foods

Processed foods are exactly what they indicate unnatural. Something in these foods has been modified, and as a result, manufacturers have scaled back nutrients you need for your brain as well as your body to function properly.

How you can take action: As always, opt for fresh greens and vegetables, fresh fruits (in moderation), lean meat and fish (there’s a reason it’s called brain food), and foods with high alkalinity. Remember, you can’t place a dollar value on how you feel, so try to put your diet before many things.

 

9. Dehydration

Most of us know that dehydration is what causes the body to break down both mentally and physically.

How you can take action: Drink a tall glass of water FIRST thing in the morning, and it will likely hold you over for the first 3 hours of your day. Drink a medium-large glass every two hours thereafter. Drink more water 30 minutes before and after meals; this helps with digestion too!

How you can take even more action: Understand the vicious cycle that an unhealthy lifestyle can have on your life. For example, if you eat poorly but work out, you are limiting your progress and “chasing your tail” as you try to reach your results. Positive balance and consistency are the keys to success.

 

10. Not knowing your sleeping pattern

Paying attention to your biological clock allows you to rest better and more productively.

How you can take action: If you don’t do anything right when it comes to sleep, at least aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time, says Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and author of The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan.

Energy
 

Everything adds up. Remember what Jim Rohn says, “What’s easy to do – is also easy not to do.” If every mistake has a domino effect, then so does every positive action.

Raise your standards by standing guard to the factors that are draining your mind.

Doing so will increase your focus, productivity, and confidence, and you will feel enabled to make the right decisions. Do the small things consistently when it comes to your health.

Steer clear of energy-draining habits, and you will ultimately achieve or even exceed your goals!

 

What is the one thing you most need to start doing?

What is the one thing you most need to stop doing?

What is the one thing that you would add to this list?

 

Brad DeVore is personal excellence blogger and founder of PositiveJump.com. My passion is to write about motivation, success, health, wealth, productivity, and topics related to getting an edge in life. Sharing this knowledge has helped me create a perfect community of people who have similar beliefs to reach increased happiness and greater success. To receive a free e-list of exclusive personal excellence tips and other authentic content, click success to learn more about the irrefutable PositiveJump nation beliefs!

Advertisement
5 Comments

5 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Entrepreneurs

The Brutal Truth About Entrepreneurship with ADHD (And Why Most Advice Is Making It Worse)

Published

on

Image Credit: Joel Brown - Addicted2success

You’re not lazy. You’re not undisciplined… and you’re definitely not broken.

You’re an entrepreneur with ADHD, and right now you’re probably sitting on 19 unfinished projects, 47 open tabs, and a brain that feels like it’s running on 12 different radio stations at once.

You’ve read the books. You’ve tried the planners, the Pomodoro timers, the accountability groups. You’ve even hired coaches who promised to “fix” your focus. Yet here you are — brilliant ideas, massive potential, and a business that still feels like it’s one step away from collapsing under the weight of your own mind.

Here’s what almost nobody in the entrepreneurial space will admit:

The real struggle isn’t your ADHD. It’s that you’ve been trying to run a neurodivergent brain inside a neurotypical business model — and then beating yourself up when it doesn’t work.

Most advice for entrepreneurs was written by people whose brains work differently. They preach consistency, routines, long-term planning, and steady execution like those things are universal truths. For the ADHD entrepreneur, those “truths” feel like trying to swim upstream in cement. You can force it for a while (and you have), but eventually your brain rebels, the burnout hits, and you’re left feeling like a failure who just needs to “try harder.”

That cycle is quietly destroying more talented founders than cash flow problems or bad hires ever could.

The deeper layer most people never reach is this: your ADHD isn’t a bug in the system. It’s a different operating system entirely. And when you stop trying to install Windows on a Mac and start building everything around macOS, the game changes completely.

The Hidden Addiction That Keeps ADHD Entrepreneurs Stuck

You already know the surface symptoms — time blindness, rejection sensitivity, starting strong and fading fast, shiny object syndrome.

But the real trap is more insidious.

It’s the addiction to chaos and novelty.

Your brain is wired for dopamine. New ideas, big visions, last-minute sprints, high-stakes pressure — these things light you up like nothing else. The boring, repetitive, systems-building work that actually scales a business? It feels like torture.

So unconsciously, you keep your business in a state of controlled chaos. You say yes to too many things. You chase the next exciting opportunity. You avoid building the boring infrastructure because “I work better under pressure anyway.”

And every time the pressure gets too high, you crash, swear you’ll get organized next quarter, and repeat the cycle.

Meanwhile, the neurotypical advice keeps telling you to “just build better habits.” As if your brain is a poorly trained dog that needs more discipline instead of a high-performance race car that needs the right fuel and track.

This isn’t a character flaw. It’s neurology.

And until you stop treating your wiring as something to overcome and start treating it as your greatest strategic advantage, you’ll stay stuck in the same exhausting loop.

The Identity Shift That Changes Everything

The entrepreneurs with ADHD who finally break through don’t “fix” their brains.

They redesign their entire business to work with their brains.

They stop trying to become the consistent, routine-loving founder the gurus talk about. Instead, they become the architect of a system that leverages their natural strengths — hyperfocus, pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, relentless drive under pressure — while outsourcing or automating everything that drains them.

This is the layer most ADHD entrepreneurs never reach because it requires something terrifying: accepting that you are never going to be “normal” at entrepreneurship… and that’s exactly why you can win bigger than most.

Your ability to see connections others miss. Your tolerance for uncertainty. Your capacity to go all-in when something lights you up. These aren’t liabilities. They’re unfair advantages in a world that rewards speed, creativity, and bold moves.

The shift is simple but brutal:

Stop trying to manage your ADHD. Start designing your business around it.

How to Actually Build a Business That Works With Your Brain

  1. Stop fighting your energy cycles — weaponize them. Most ADHD entrepreneurs try to force 8-hour focused days. That’s insane. Instead, track when your brain actually works best (for many it’s 10pm-2am or random 4-hour hyperfocus bursts). Build your schedule around those windows. Protect them like gold. Do the deep, high-leverage work then. Use the low-energy periods for admin, calls, or recovery.
  2. Build “chaos containers,” not rigid systems. Traditional project management tools feel like cages. Create loose but effective structures that give your brain freedom. Use tools like Notion with massive flexibility, or body-doubling (working alongside someone virtually), or even hiring a “chaos wrangler” — an assistant who thrives on turning your scattered ideas into executable plans.
  3. Turn your rejection sensitivity into rocket fuel. That intense fear of letting people down or looking stupid? Channel it into creating ridiculously high standards for your customer experience or product quality. Use it as fuel instead of letting it paralyze you.
  4. Outsource the parts that make you want to die. The execution, follow-through, and maintenance phases are where most ADHD entrepreneurs lose. Hire or partner with people who love the details. Your job is vision, strategy, and big swings. Let someone else own the spreadsheets.
  5. Create external pressure on your own terms. Deadlines and public commitments work wonders for the ADHD brain. Use them strategically — announce launches, create beta groups, or work with coaches who understand neurodivergence instead of fighting it.

The entrepreneurs with ADHD who are quietly crushing it right now aren’t the ones who finally became “disciplined.” They’re the ones who stopped apologizing for how their brain works and started building empires that are specifically engineered for it.

They have teams that handle the boring stuff. They have systems that flex with their energy instead of fighting it. They’ve turned their “flaws” into the exact reasons their businesses stand out.

Your ADHD brain is not the enemy. The enemy was trying to play the game by rules that were never designed for you.

The moment you accept that and start designing everything… your calendar, your team, your offers, your processes — around how you actually operate, the struggle doesn’t disappear… but it becomes manageable, even exhilarating.

You were never meant to fit the mold. You were meant to break it and build something better.

The world doesn’t need another cookie-cutter entrepreneur. It needs the chaotic, brilliant, all-in, slightly unhinged visionaries who can only operate at full power when the game is built for them.

That’s you.

Stop trying to fix yourself. Start building the business that was always meant to be run by a mind like yours.

Your next breakthrough isn’t going to come from working harder or being more consistent. It’s going to come from finally giving yourself permission to work differently.

And when you do that? Watch what happens.

The same brain that once felt like a curse becomes the exact reason your business becomes unstoppable.

You’ve got this. Not despite the ADHD. Because of it.

If you want to learn more from me or send me a personal message I’ll respond to you on Instagram at https://instagram.com/iamjoelbrown speak soon!

Continue Reading

Health & Fitness

The Health Planning Habits That Support Long-Term Success

Published

on

Image Credit: Joel Brown - Addicted2success

Most people think about health planning only when something forces them to.

A medical bill arrives unexpectedly. An insurance issue appears during treatment. A diagnosis changes how future care needs are viewed. Suddenly health planning becomes urgent instead of preventative.

The problem is that long-term health stability is usually shaped by smaller habits built quietly over time, not just by major decisions during emergencies.

That includes physical health habits, of course, but it also includes how people approach insurance coverage, preventative care, financial preparation, and long-term healthcare planning before problems become immediate.

The families who navigate healthcare stress most effectively are often not the ones avoiding every issue entirely. More often, they’re the ones who built systems early enough to make difficult situations feel more manageable later.

Consistency Matters More Than Perfection

A lot of health advice still revolves around extreme change.

Perfect diets. Aggressive routines. Complete lifestyle overhauls.

In reality, most long-term health success comes from consistency people can realistically maintain for years instead of months. Small preventative habits tend to matter more than dramatic short-term efforts that collapse under pressure.

That principle applies financially too.

People often spend more time researching investment strategies than understanding their healthcare coverage or preparing for future medical costs. But healthcare instability can disrupt long-term financial plans surprisingly quickly when households are unprepared for how expensive even routine care can become over time.

The practical side of health planning is becoming harder to separate from overall financial planning now than it used to be.

Preventative Planning Reduces More Stress Than People Realize

One overlooked benefit of health planning is emotional stability.

People who understand their coverage, maintain preventative care routines, and think ahead about healthcare decisions often describe feeling less overwhelmed when unexpected situations happen. The goal is not eliminating uncertainty entirely. That’s unrealistic.

The goal is reducing how chaotic healthcare decisions feel under pressure.

That’s one reason broader conversations tied to healthcare and health insurance have expanded significantly over the last several years. Rising costs, changing coverage structures, and increasing healthcare complexity have made long-term planning more important for average households than many people expected.

Healthcare is no longer something most families can comfortably approach reactively forever.

People Underestimate How Quickly Healthcare Costs Compound

One reason health planning habits matter so much is that healthcare costs rarely arrive in one dramatic moment alone.

More often, they build gradually:

  • recurring prescriptions
  • specialist visits
  • ongoing treatment plans
  • insurance deductible increases
  • long-term care considerations
  • unexpected procedures layered on top of existing expenses

Families often absorb these costs incrementally until they realize how much financial pressure accumulated over time.

That gradual buildup is part of what makes proactive planning valuable. People who think ahead about coverage structures, emergency savings, provider networks, and preventative care tend to adapt more smoothly when healthcare needs eventually increase later in life.

The difficult part is that many households delay these conversations because they feel healthy right now.

Healthcare Decisions Have Become More Complicated

Another challenge is that healthcare systems themselves continue evolving quickly.

Insurance structures change. Telehealth expands. Employer-sponsored benefits shift. Prescription pricing fluctuates. Patients now carry more responsibility for understanding deductibles, provider networks, and out-of-pocket exposure than previous generations often did.

That complexity creates decision fatigue.

Even relatively organized households sometimes feel uncertain about whether they’re making good healthcare choices because the systems themselves are difficult to navigate confidently. A lot of current health insurance trends discussions reflect this larger issue, healthcare planning is becoming less about isolated medical events and more about long-term sustainability across entire households.

People want predictability, but healthcare systems increasingly feel harder to predict.

The Most Effective Health Habits Usually Feel Boring

One thing people rarely admit is that good long-term planning habits are often not particularly exciting.

Scheduling preventative appointments. Reviewing insurance annually. Building emergency savings slowly. Staying physically active consistently. Maintaining realistic routines instead of dramatic cycles of burnout and reset.

None of those habits feel dramatic at the moment.

But over long periods, they create stability that becomes incredibly valuable once life gets complicated. The people who navigate healthcare stress most effectively are often the ones who built ordinary systems early instead of waiting for perfect motivation later.

That applies financially and physically at the same time.

Why Long-Term Success Depends on Adaptability

Health planning is ultimately difficult because people’s lives keep changing.

Careers shift. Families grow. Aging parents require support. Medical needs evolve. Financial priorities change over decades in ways nobody predicts perfectly in advance.

That’s why the strongest long-term health planning habits are usually flexible rather than rigid.

The goal is not building a flawless plan that never changes. It’s creating enough structure, awareness, and preparation that future adjustments become manageable instead of overwhelming.

Most people cannot control every future health outcome. They can, however, build habits that make uncertainty easier to navigate when it eventually arrives.

Continue Reading

Life

Why Moving to a New City Can Change Your Mindset

Discover how moving to a new city boosts neuroplasticity, builds resilience, and reshapes your mindset

Published

on

How relocation changes your mindset

Relocation is always a challenge. Rebuilding and restarting your life requires you to step outside of your comfort zone. (more…)

Continue Reading

Change Your Mindset

The Hidden Reason You Can’t Stay Consistent

If motivation keeps failing you, the real issue isn’t discipline. It’s the identity shaping your habits and long-term success.

Published

on

Identity-based habits

Success often looks like a time-management problem. You buy a planner, set reminders, and hope that next week will be different. For a few days, it works. Then stress hits, motivation drops, and old patterns return. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending