My phone is like me…

It doesn’t last much longer than a day between charges, especially when it’s multi-tasking, data-roaming, and fulfilling its purpose in the world.

For the hour or so prior to our long-haul flight from Heathrow to Johannesburg we sat by a charging hub. They have them at many airports these days; a tower of plug sockets and USB ports for passengers to prepare their devices for use.

Knowing that I would be on a flight for 11 hours I wanted to make sure that my phone and tablet wouldn’t run out of juice midair. The ports and sockets were full. Everyone was sat around the magical source of energy, waiting patiently.

Highly sensitive and introverted people create their own energy. This is an important thing to recognise and embrace. It’s also important to recognise that if you’re responsible for managing and creating it then external sources can potentially take it.

This is a key difference between extroversion and introversion. Introverted people get their charge from being away from stimulation and people, whereas extroverted people may find that they draw charge from being around other people and doing highly stimulating activities.

I suppose we all make our own energy in a way. Even people who gain energy from external sources need to seek them out and do what fits them.

It seems more poignant for introverts and HSPs because we have to be intentional and active in taking the space and time to plug-in to those things that give us energy.

It’s not enough to simply step back from the world. There are times when I am alone but not re-charging. In an interview I did with Kaitlyn Mirison she described this as ‘numbing out’ and it’s just as bad for us as being overwhelmed and over-stimulated.

Protect your resources and embrace limits.

Listen to this week’s episode where I talk about all this stuff and more. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

The post #094: Charge Your Battery Before You Hit the Road [Podcast] appeared first on Sheep Dressed Like Wolves.